"He will go to Europe to meet with UCI executives" - Quintana set for meeting to clarify future

According to reports, Nairo Quintana is set to board a plane to Europe for a face-to-face meeting with UCI chiefs, as the Colombian looks to clarify his racing future following a positive drug test in relation to tramadol.

The former two-time Grand Tour winner is still a free agent after his Team Arkea Samsic contract expired at the end of the 2022 campaign. Despite plenty of rumours that he is close to signing to this team or that there has been no official news and Quintana has not raced competitively since the Colombian National Championships where he finished 3rd.

According to Diario AS Colombia, "Nairo will have a fleeting trip to Mexico this Friday, February 17, and later he will go to Europe to meet with UCI executives." Quintana meanwhile said, "I want to compete again, put on a number, feel the demand to respond to a team, the pain in my legs from the effort," whilst thanking "the Colombian teams that have offered me a privileged place in their training However, my interest is to continue raising the flag of the country in the great races of the world."