Astana Qazaqstan Team a possibility for Nairo Quintana as Colombian looks for new team

Nairo Quintana will not stay at Arkéa Samsic and the teams willing to take him in for 2023 begin to narrow. However, Astana Qazaqstan Team have emerged as a potential candidate, in a deal that could benefit both.

It was reported by Cyclingnews that the Kazakh team would be interested in the Colombian. It was rumoured that a French World Tour team was interested in his services, with all but Groupama-FDJ having since denied any contacts. However, the 32-year old's future may reside over a different continent.

Having compatriots in Miguel Ángel López and Harold Tejada signed already for 2023, and with a season that could only be described as disappointing - aside from Vincenzo Nibali and López' performances at the Giro and Vuelta - the Kazakh team is in desperate need of results.

They have evaded this season's relegation fight due to the points accumulated over the last two years, but 2022 saw Astana as only the 21st team in terms of scored UCI points - last between the World Tour teams, and behind Alpecin-Deceuninck, Arkéa Samsic and TotalEnergies.