A lot of water has passed under the bridge for the Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana, who has this Thursday's elite men's time trial at the road Nationals, which will take place in Boyacá.
The route, known because it was almost the same as the 1995 Cycling World Cup, will begin at the Transportation Terminal in the municipality of Paipa, arriving at the Plaza de Bolívar in Tunja, to complete a 41.9 kilometer route.
Quintana knows that he must respond on the bike. He is not a great specialist on the clock, but he has stood out in that effort and more so in the Colombian lot.
Nairo returns after spending almost a year without competing
It is Quintana's official return to the International Cycling Union (UCI) races, after the novel with the topic of tramadol, a substance that was found in two blood tests in the 2022 Tour de France and that not only earned him disqualification. of the test, but it was the cause of a big headache.His last race was almost a year ago. It happened on February 5, 2023, when the bronze medal was won in Bucaramanga in the long-distance event of the road Nationals.
Daniel Felipe Martínez, Esteban Chaves and Nairo Quintana, the podium of the 2023 Road Nationals.
354 days have passed since that achievement and after a year of uncertainty he returns to official competition and with Movistar, the team that gave him everything and with which he achieved his best successes, such as the 2014 Giro d'Italia titles and of the 2016 Vuelta a España.
Nairo's preparation for his return
The rider from Boyacá has prepared for his return. He wants to do it in style, not only does he have in his favor that the time trial and the long-distance test will be in Boyacá, in the 'backyard of his house', but a good performance would give him the opportunity to push hard in 2024, which For him it is a kind of revenge.
The last stage on the clock in which he participated was in that Tour de France of disqualification, a day between Lacapelle-Marival and Rocamadour, of 40.7 kilometers, in which he occupied box 42, 4 minutes and 08 seconds behind Wout van Aert, the winner.
Nairo Quintana is motivated and no wonder. He was almost hopeless from cycling. He knocked on doors and they didn't open. He faced the International Cycling Union (UCI), which disqualified him from the Tour, since tramadol was prohibited, at that time, in competition.
He went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) to defend himself, but that instance ruled in favor of the UCI.
He will have his chance in the time trial, but it won't be easy. In front he will have strong men on the clock like Walter Vargas, Daniel Martínez and Rodrigo Contreras, true specialists in the modality.
From left to right: Rodrigo Contreras, second; Miguel López, champion; Cristian Muñoz, third. Time trial podium in 2023
His best victory is that, that he returns to the competition, that he is a competitive cyclist again and that he is hungry to race and win.
Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of EL TIEMPO
@lisandroabel
More Sports news
#Nairo #Quintana #runs #days #race
