Cycling bids farewell to a legend - Nairo Quintana rides last race after stellar career including two Grand Tour wins

Cycling
Nairo Quintana
Nairo Quintana is already part of cycling history. The Colombian rider lined up on Saturday at the Giro dell’Emilia, the final race of his professional career, drawing a line under 15 seasons at the top level. At 36, the climber from Cómbita closes a career defined by 53 victories, 42 of them with Movistar Team, and some of the most important triumphs in Colombian cycling.
His record in the Grand Tours sums up much of his stature. Quintana won the 2014 Giro d’Italia and the 2016 Vuelta a España, and climbed onto the Tour de France podium three times, in 2013, 2015, and 2016.
He added eight stage wins across the three Grand Tours and two best young rider classifications at the Tour, while in 2013 he also won the mountains classification.
The Colombian broke into the elite at just 22 and quickly became one of the big names in world cycling. His ability to climb and to fight for overall wins in stage races allowed him to build a trajectory that went beyond results and turned him into one of Colombia’s leading sporting figures.
The relationship between Quintana and Movistar Team began in 2012, when he took his first professional win with the Spanish squad at the Vuelta a Murcia. From then on, their careers were tightly linked. Of his 53 victories, 42 came in blue, including his triumphs at the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España.

Legend at Movistar Team

During his spell with the team he also won two Tirreno–Adriatico titles, a Tour de Romandie, a Vuelta al País Vasco, a Volta a Catalunya, three Vueltas a Asturias, two Vueltas a Burgos, and two editions of the Tour de la Provence.
His final victory came in 2026 at the Vuelta a Asturias, closing his professional palmarès with one more win alongside the team with which he achieved his greatest successes.
The farewell at the Giro dell’Emilia also carried a special weight. It was at this same race that Quintana claimed one of his first major victories with Movistar Team in 2012. Fourteen years later, the Italian route became the stage for his definitive goodbye to professional cycling.

Special Nairo Quintana bike

For the occasion, Canyon — Movistar’s bike supplier — prepared a special frame that revisited some of the key chapters of his career.
The right side, in red, evoked the 2016 Vuelta a España, while the left, in pink, recalled the 2014 Giro d’Italia. On the top tube, a blue line represented the path he rode from home to school during his childhood.
Thus ends an extraordinary career. Nairo Quintana leaves professional cycling after winning two Grand Tours, numerous stage victories, and securing a permanent place in the history of Movistar Team and international cycling.
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