Nairo Quintana has been for months on the balance of his career in the peloton. It is until this day unsure where or even if the Colombian will remain in the peloton, but an offer is present at Team Medellín - EPM where he could join
Miguel Ángel López.
"Once again I called, as I did the previous days. We would be very interested," José Julián Velásquez, manager of the Colombian team, said in a video posted on social media. "The doors of Team Medellín are open to you and we hope that one day we can have you, that you can represent us and that you will have the opportunity to continue this spectacular sporting career that you have had, that you will continue to represent all Colombians with honour."
This is the team's second attempt to publicly ramp up support for a possible signing of the Colombian. Quintana had his agreement with Arkéa Samsic broken after testing positive for tramadol during the Tour de France. He had claimed to be racing the Grand Tours this coming summer, with rumours of a contract already having been signed.
However, to this day, nothing was revealed. Johan Bruyneel had also claimed that teams were threatened with a block from the Tour de France if they were to sign the 32-year old. Hence as the season starts for most, Quintana remains sidelined.
Signing with Medellín would be a significant downgrade in comparison to where he had been standing, however he could join Miguel Ángel López. The former Astana rider faced a similar situation as his contract with the Kazakh team was terminated following likely connections to a Spanish doping ring.