“Nairo has already paid for the consequences of what happened" - No second thoughts for Movistar when it came to giving Nairo Quintana a second chance

Nairo Quintana had been seeking a return to pro cycling throughout the entire 2023. It was a difficult task, with plenty teams being linked to him throughout the season but all dismissed. Ultimately, it was his past team Movistar who opened it's doors to the Colombian, as the two link up once again into 2024.

“We’d been talking to him for a couple of months and we partly had the responsibility of giving him the chance to not exit the sport the way he was being forced to. He didn’t have many options and we finally made the decision to take him for next year. And to be honest we’re really happy about it," Sebastián Unzué, team DS, said in words to GCN. “Nothing stopped us at that point. We just didn’t even consider it back then. We had other goals then and it wasn’t until a couple of months ago that we discussed it. All the conversations have been this year.”

The conversations reportedly increased in seriousness during the Vuelta a Espana, as the race spent a couple of days in Andorra where Quintana has his European base - and used it to train with fellow pros and former teammates. The base for a deal was entirely there, although the 33-year old has not competed much this year, his third place at the Colombian national championships was a sign that despite having no team he kept his form.

Of course, the transfer didn't come without it's difficult questions. Quintana tested positive for tramadol twice during the 2022 Tour de France and had his results removed from the books. Whilst he was not suspended from racing, it led to many teams having serious doubts in connecting with the climber. However, Unzué believes that an entire season out of the peloton was already enough of a consequence for his actions. “Nairo has already paid for the consequences of what happened more than a year ago. All those issues have been solved already and there was no hesitation," he says.

“Back then, when he was first with us, he was one of the top five riders in the world. He will be 34 next year and it’s not easy to get back after a year of not racing. We need to be a little bit more prudent and not think about him coming back and being the Nairo that we’ve had here in his best years," he continues. In the past, Quintana has won both Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, alongside podiums at the Tour de France and many other big victories. "But even if we don’t have the best Nairo, he is still a rider with huge talent. We know him really well and he will fit into the team perfectly. Even if he’s not at his highest level he will be a very positive addition to the team:"

A domestique role in bigger races, alongside occasional leads can be expected. But there is emphasis in starting off slowly. “First we need to start the season and start on the right foot. We’ll see where’s at and we’ll discover once he gets a bib number pinned to his back, the level he’s at. Until then it’s not intelligent to make any further plans on where he’s going to be in terms of leadership or where he’s going to work for others."

"I’m convinced that he’s going to be competitive, that’s for sure, but I don’t know at what level to be honest. He’s a rider who starts the season quite well, and he’s been working his ass off all year, training as if he was ready to race.”