There had been rumours of Nairo Quintana leaving Arkéa Samsic, but the French team's will to keep it's leader has turned out to be significant, and a long-term three-year contract has been signed, set to extend the collaboration for several more years.
“I consider the Team Arkéa-Samsic to be a family in which I feel at home," Quintana said in a press release. "...The team has grown since I joined, and it continues to do so. We started to get good results together in 2020, and that continued last year. This great momentum has continued again this year".
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Quintana at the time came from Movistar Team, and found a place where he became sole leader. Over the three years Quintana has taken wins at Paris-Nice, he also won the overall classification at the Volta Asturias and twice both Tour de la Provence and Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var. This year he remains one of the top performers, with GC and stage wins at Proves and Var, Top5 places at Paris-Nice and Vuelta a Catalunya, aswell as a sixth place at the Tour de France which saw Quintana close to the level he achieved in his best years.
"In 2022, we have performed well. The overall level of the Team Arkéa-Samsic has continued to evolve. The team continues to grow," he stated. "I very quickly became convinced that I still had some great sporting challenges to take up under the Arkéa-Samsic jersey and that our beautiful common history initiated since 2020 could only continue".
Arkéa Samsic is set to take the step onto World Tour level for the coming three seasons and it is largely due to the points the 32-year old has piled on for the last three seasons. His descent into a more modest calendar had him get his confidence back, and he is after the Tour now aiming high at the Vuelta a Espana with similar ambitions.
The renewal comes just days before the start of the Vuelta, and after assuring the team's promotion, Quintana will be playing a role to assure it's maintenance at the highest level for the coming years.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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