Cycling bids farewell to a legend - Nairo Quintana rides last race after stellar career including two Grand Tour wins
Cycling
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.
Del Giro 2014 a la Vuelta 2016, pasando por tres podios en el Tour. 💙
— Movistar España (@movistar_es) October 3, 2026
Nairo Quintana se despide del ciclismo profesional con el @movistar_team, el equipo con el que llegó a lo más alto.
Gracias por tanto, Nairo. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/jc3FN4ympE
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.
Read also
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.

Javier RampeCycling Journalist
Javier Rampe is a sports analyst with more than 15 years of experience. He holds a degree in Economics from the University of Rome and a Diploma in Business Studies from the University of Cádiz. Despite coming from an academic background not particularly associated with cycling, his passion for both cycling and journalism was instilled in him from an early age. He grew up following Miguel Indurain and José María “El Chava” Jiménez. An admirer of Michael Robinson’s communication style and journalistic approach, he was inspired to pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Buenos Aires, which he is currently completing.
He has always maintained close ties with the worlds of sport and culture, contributing from a young age to sports blogs and film and music review websites. His work has appeared in media outlets such as Cope, RAI, and Radio Con Vos. He is also the founder of the cycling-focused podcast El Contraanálisis and the football interview channel Días De Fútbol, dedicated to conversations with professional footballers.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Javier has interviewed some of the most influential figures in modern cycling, including Alejandro Valverde and Tadej Pogačar, as well as key voices in anti-doping policy such as Alberto Yelmo, David Varillas, and Marcelo Milano. Marcos Maynar, in relation to the ‘Operación Ílex’ case, is also among the personalities he has interviewed. He enjoys conducting in-depth analysis of the cycling ecosystem and has attended major events such as Strade Bianche, the Vuelta a Andalucía, and Itzulia, as well as numerous national cyclo-cross races.
His background in economics, combined with extensive experience in marketing and corporate communications, drives his continuous study of positioning strategies and ensures that he always keeps his focus on crafting compelling and evocative headlines.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment







