Everything about Nairo Quintana

Who is Nairo Quintana?

Nairo Quintana is a professional cyclist who was born in Colombia and has been one of the most prominent figures in modern cycling, racing for Movistar Team, where he was one of the most prominent climbers, having most famously won the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana throughout his career. He has also on multiple occasions gone head-to-head with Chris Froome at the Tour de France, and Quintana hold in his palmarès dozens of World Tour wins, and titles in some of the most prestigious stage-races in the world.

Name: Nairo Quintana

Birthday: 4 February, 1990

Birthplace: Cómbita, Colombia

Turned Pro: 2009
Height: 1.67m

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Nairo Quintana

Nairo Quintana was born in the town of Cómbita, near Boyacá in Colombia on Feb. 4, 1990. He is one of the best climbers in modern cycling and one of the most successful stage riders, and has built his career and palmares from these talents. He has also played an important role in the current flow of South American riders in the World Tour, as many riders were born and live at very high altitudes in the region making them naturally developed for the specific demands of the sport.

He currently races for Movistar Team. In the 2014 Giro d'Italia, during the mountain time trial to Monte Grappa, Quintana rode an estimated 6.18 W/Kg for more than 55 minutes. As a result, his FTP would likely be between 6.1-6.2W/Kg, although this might've increased in the future. He is married to Yeimi Paola Hernandez with whom he has a son. Nairo's brother Dayer Quintana has ridden alongside him (except for 1 year) with Movistar and Arkéa Samsic since 2014, and although not as victorious, he has also been a successful climber during his career.

Like many of his compatriots, Quintana's professional career began far away from the spotlight of European cycling. The diverse Colombian calendar offered him opportunities, 2009 was his first year as a pro with the Boyacá es Para Vivirla team where he began racing regularly in Europe. At the age of 19 he won the youth classification in the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid where several big names participated such as Alejandro Valverde or Francisco Mancebo.

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In 2010 he transferred to the Cafe de Colombia - Colombia es Pasion team, where he had a relatively absent season until the Tour de l'Avenir. There he won the overall classification as well as the final two stages (a mountain stage and a mountain time trial), which immediately put a lot of eyes on him. Nevertheless, he stayed with the Colombian team in 2011 , a season in which he did not achieve any significant results, however, outside of the KOM classification in the Volta a Catalunya, his first World Tour race - because the team was promoted to Pro Continental that year.

He had convinced, however, and in 2012 he was contracted by Movistar. Quintana won one of his first races with the team, the Vuelta a Murcia in early March. He naturally had a support role on the team, but rode to second place in the overall classification of the Vuelta a la Comunidad de Madrid, and in the Critérium du Dauphiné he joined the breakaway in the 6th stage to Morzine to take a strong stage win that would further break through. The following week he won La Route du Sud after winning the queen stage. This saw him debut in a Grand Tour in the Vuelta a Espana where he supported Alejandro Valverde on the final podium and showed his climbing skills on several occasions. Later that year, he would win the Giro dell'Emilia.

2013 was a year to consolidate his position in the team. A win and 4th place at the beginning of the year in the Volta a Catalunya was a good sign, but his final victory in the Itzulia Basque Country - in addition to a stage win - took him to the top of the cycling world. The goal was the Tour de France, and Quintana quickly showed he was the main man for Movistar. Valverde could not contest the GC, and Quintana flew up Mont Ventoux to 2nd place behind Chris Froome on a mythical day. Quintana won his first Grand Tour stage in stage 20 in Le Semnoz and finished the race in second place. Soon after, he also won the queen stage and the overall classification in the Vuelta a Burgos.

In 2014 , he entered the year well by winning the Tour de San Luis. In Europe, he finished 2nd in Tirreno-Adriatico and 5th in the Volta a Catalunya before setting his sights on the Giro d'Italia. Quintana rode to 5th in stage 15 and on stage 16 he captured the race with a big stage win in Val Martello. This followed a dramatic moment where on top of the Passo dello Stelvio, the race was neutralized, but some riders - including himself - failed to see the signage and holes appeared in the snowy and very dangerous descent. However, Quintana secured his lead and won the mountain time trial to Cima Grappa, proved to be the strongest climber in the race and captured the Corsa Rosa.

Quintana won the Vuelta a Burgos ahead of the Vuelta a Espana, where he rode to the lead after a very strong first week. On stage 10, an individual time trial, Quintana crashed into a rail guard on a descent, losing a lot of time. His injuries forced him to abandon the race the next day. In 2015, Quintana took a dominant victory in Tirreno-Adriatico. He achieved several other results during the year, but had his sights set on the Tour de France, where he was once again the main rival of Chris Froome, who finished as his closest rival in the very first mountain stage.

Nairo Quintana during the Tour de Suisse

This was a Tour that was heavily contested in the final week, with Quintana attacking frequently in the final week and taking chunks of time on Chris Froome, but the INEOS machine managed to close the gaps sufficiently and the Colombian eventually rode back to 2nd place. Quintana rode the Tour-Vuelta double for the first time that year, finishing 4th in Spain. Early in 2016 , he won the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Romandie, two important victories on his palmares. The 3rd place in Itzulia Basque Coutntry and a victory in the Route du Sud added to that. Quintana again set his sights on the Tour and this time finished 3rd, not with the same legs as in the past, but he did ride to the final podium.

The year was not over yet, however, and Quintana would have another shot at the Vuelta a Espana. He quickly made his intentions clear by flying into the red jersey on stage 8 to La Camperona and then winning the stage to Lagos de Covadonga on stage 10. Despite riding in the lead, he had to keep attacking given his small lead over his rival Chris Froome. However, it was in the 15th stage to Aramón Formigal where Quintana buried the axe, joining a risky breakaway along with Alberto Contador and a large group and picking up 2:37 minutes on Froome after a tactical masterpiece. Quintana lost time, but kept the red jersey safe to win his second Grand Tour.

In 2017 , Quintana won the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Tirreno-Adriatico and Vuelta Asturias in the first part of the season. He returned to the Giro d'Italia, an absolutely epic edition of it. For three weeks, Quintana went up against Tom Dumoulin, Vincenzo Nibali and several other riders who competed for the pink jersey on a very balanced level on multiple days, with several headline changes and constant drama. Quintana won the 9th stage to Blockhaus with a dominant performance, lost the lead in the time trial and regained it in the 19th stage to Piancavallo. Quintana took more time in the 20th stage and went into pink in the final time trial, but could not withstand Dumoulin's advance and eventually finished second overall.

He started the Tour de France immediately after and rode in the top 10 for more than half the race. He took part in a big breakaway in stage 13 to Foix, but could do no better than 12th at the end as he struggled with form. In 2019 , Quintana rode his way to 2nd place in Paris-Nice and almost managed to win the race on the final day. The Tour de France was on the cards, where he won the stage to Valloire from a breakaway but could only finish 8th on the edition. However, he was a dangerous man for the Vuelta because he had been successful in this way in the past. He had the red jersey for one day and won the early stage to Calpe, but lacked consistency and eventually finished 4th.

In 2020 , Quintana had a new project, moving to Arkéa Samsic, as his relationship with Movistar came to an end and he wanted to stay at the helm of a team. He found that in the French Pro Continental team, where he won the Tour de la Provence and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var early on, in addition to the queen stage in Paris-Nice. After the Covid-19 lockdown, he rode to 3rd in the Tour de l'Ain - only behind Primoz Roglic and Egan Bernal, however, but in the Tour de France he broke in the second half of the race and finished far outside the Top10.

In 2021 , his goals in the Tour were also very disappointing. He won a stage and the overall classification at the Vuelta Asturias, but a knee injury and poor form caused him to struggle through the season. 2022 was different, however, as he started the same way as 2020 with classifications and stage wins in both the Tour de la Provence and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var. Now with other ambitions - World Tour points - Quintana had a strong and consistent start to the season, also riding in the Top5 in Paris-Nice and Volta a Catalunya. He dropped out in the Tour of Turkey while he was the big favorite, but he had good form in the Tour.

Although Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar were above the competition, Quintana rode to 6th place in the Tour. He suffered from an illness in the final week, but finished 2nd in the queen stage to Col du Granon, where Pogacar exploded and lost the yellow jersey. Quintana would not retain it, however, as he tested positive twice for the painkiller tramadol. This did not result in a suspension, but his results - and points - were removed from his and Arkéa's palmarès and this also meant that his contract was not renewed with the team.

Quintana's only competition in the 2023 season was the national championships where he finished third. Throughout the season there were rumors that he was in contact with several teams, but without success. In the end, he signed a new contract with his former team Movistar.

His return to racing in Europe was met with several injuries and illnesses which hampered his start to the 2024 season. At the Giro d'Italia he was given a free role and thrived in stage 15 where he joined the day's breakaway and rode an incredible stage. However, he was met with a very strong Tadej Pogacar who stole the spotlight on the day and took the victory ahead of the Colombian.