Miguel Angel Lopez "the biggest disappointment that I have taken in my life" for the man who brought him to Europe and is also involved in Operation Ilex

Vicente Belda, cyclist and former sports director of the Kelme team, has published a book in which, apart from reviewing his entire career as an athlete, he gives his version of what happened in Operación Puerto and talks about his connection with Colombian cycling, Nairo Quintana, and Miguel Ángel López incredible demise from the world of cycling.

In an interview in Marca, the Valencian rider talks in particular about the reasons why Colombia does not have more cyclists, how he discovered Nairo Quintana and the end of his relationship with Miguel Angel Lopez and his involvement with Marcos Maynar and Operation Ilex.

Colombia and Nairo Quintana

Belda recalls the moment when he discovered a Nairo who moved incredible data considering his age and the time of his signing with Movistar Team: "When Nairo Quintana came out I remember we saw some amazing data. He gave us the same results as Santiago Botero when he was 26 years old, who was world champion. We came to think that it was an error, so we repeated the test and he gave the same data. We told the sports director that we had discovered an emerald in the rough, and that if we were able to take it and know how to polish it, we could get a great cyclist, and we did. Nairo spent three years helping him with his European philosophy until I became his agent and he signed with Movistar".

Quintana was ultimately a brilliant signing for Movistar, a rider who conquered the Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, many other big races and almost won the Tour de France as well. This led to immense scouting in South America, which has created a generation of stars that have gone as far as winning the Tour de France, Olympic Games and much more.

"The Colombian cyclist in Colombia is transformed. I lived it since 1985 when I went to race. They are transformed by the people, the atmosphere, the altitude, the way of being, the fans? But then you bring them to Europe, or you bring them very young and with good data, or they don't work out. Now I think that even in European teams, not to say worldwide, there is not much credibility," Belda argues. "The results they are having in the Giro d'Italia U23, in the Tour de l'Avenir or when they come to race in Europe, we are seeing that they are not good. So if they are not good, it's difficult".

Miguel Ángel López and Operation Ilex

With Miguel Ángel López it seems that Belda has a before and after in his relationship. He was the one who discovered him and helped him go to Astana, but later 'Superman' left with another agent. Ultimately López' career entered a downward spiral, as he abandoned the 2021 Vuelta a España on the final competitive day over a massive internal dispute with the team. He and the team parted ways a few weeks after, prematurely ending his contract despite him already having ended his season.

In 2022 he went back to leading Astana, and then in December news broke out of Operation Ilex, where he was suspected of being involved in illegal medicine trafficking. When due to Operation Ilex the Colombian was required by the Civil Guard for questioning, with Vicente Belda and his son also involved:

"I called him the day he retired in the Giro d'Italia to find out what had happened to him, and he told me that he was running through the Barcelona airport because he missed his plane, felt a pinch in his quadriceps and had been lame since then. He had already had many muscular problems, so I wasn't surprised, and neither was I surprised that he was going to miss his plane. Then in the months that followed the Maynar issue came up, but my disappointment is that we're being blamed for something we didn't do."

López' situation is very complex, and it's not clear how much or if Belda had any involvement in the operation. It is required to take his words with a pinch of salt. López in 2022 abandoned the Giro d'Italia early on and there was speculation that he had a reaction to the substance Menotropin, not the muscular issues that he had described. In 2023 the Colombian went back to racing in the Americas, with extreme success, but as July came the UCI confirmed his use of the substance and handed him a 4-year suspension which may have ended his career.

"I think he wanted to apologize to his people and said he had nothing to do with it, that it was Vicente, that he was friends with the doctor and the masseur. Let's say that he wanted to throw the ball on the neighbor's roof, and that's what bothers me. It is the biggest disappointment that I have taken in my life, because I, my wife and my children have done a lot for him when he was here in Europe," Belda lamented.