November is coming to an end but Nairo Quintana's future is soon to be determined. After testing positive for tramadol during the Tour de France, the Colombian's expected renewal with Arkéa Samsic was broken, but a solution appears to have been found.
Although he was not suspended, the bad timing in the suspension and case resolution - in which his defense failed - saw him in a very difficult position where there were few teams interested on signing a rider just off the case, and additionally many did not have the budget or space to further bring in the climber. These included the likes of Cofidis, AG2R Citroën Team and more recently Bahrain - Victorious who publicly denied interest.
Quintana has said however recently that he's racing in the World Tour next year. It is understood that he has already signed, however the theory is not confirmed. According to a report from Antena 2, Quintana is counting on the interest of both EF Education-EasyPost and Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux.
Whilst Intermarché is a difficult team to fit, the departure of Alexander Kristoff, Jan Hirt and possibly Domenico Pozzovivo could see enough budget for the signing of Quintana. The more logical choice however would be the American team who already features several Colombian riders, a lot of focus in the mountainous races and more recently the signing of Olympic champion Richard Carapaz.
Update: Following reports that he could be joining EF Education-EasyPost, team manager Jonathan Vaughters has said on Twitter that it is the "first I've head of it" and that it "might be tricky considering our roster is full", effectively withdrawing the American team as a possibility for Quintana.
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