Nairo Quintana faces an unusual career challenge as he prepares for his return to professional cycling in 2024. Despite his impressive track record and outstanding track record in grand tours, the lack of offers from WorldTour teams following his positive for tramadol at the 2022 Tour de France has led him to consider joining a Pro Continental level squad.
Quintana, who has spent a year out of professional competition, has been the subject of speculation and rumors about his future team for most of 2023. Although it was initially thought that he would return to the WorldTour circuit, in recent days it has been confirmed that three teams - Movistar, Cofidis and AG2R - have shown interest in his services. However, concrete offers at this level of competition have yet to materialize.
What has generated the most attention around Quintana's decision is his statement that he is not willing to compete in a team that is not at the top level of world cycling. This has led to speculation that he may join a Pro Continental level team if he does not receive suitable offers from the WorldTour.
Quintana himself explained his position: "It has been difficult. Sometimes you go through some paths in life and repeating them is not so good, even if you do well. Within what I have planned I don't see it," emphasizing his commitment to compete on the international stage.
While Quintana has repeatedly proven his quality as a cyclist, the lack of WorldTour offers could influence his final choice. A Pro Continental team could provide him with the platform to once again prove his worth and, who knows, perhaps take that squad to new heights in the world of professional cycling.
Juan LarraCycling Journalist
Juan Larra is a writer for Cyclinguptodate and editor-in-chief of Ciclismoaldia, where he has played a central role since its inception. Under his leadership, the website has become a trusted source for professional cycling coverage, offering in-depth analysis, news, and feature stories.
A sports journalist with over 20 years of experience, Juan earned his degree in Journalism from the University of Seville in 2007. He began his career covering a wide range of sports—including football, basketball, Formula 1, MotoGP, tennis, and cycling—for platforms such as the official La Liga app, Vodafone and Movistar websites, NBA Blogdebasket, and Cadena Cope, honing his skills in writing and editorial management.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Juan contributes to Cyclinguptodate and serves as editor-in-chief for the tennis-focused site Tenisaldia. Throughout his career, he has conducted exclusive interviews with cyclists and sports figures, provided detailed analysis of competitions ranging from local Spanish races to major international events, and acted as a special correspondent at prestigious races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España.
Juan’s combination of experience, expertise, and direct access to athletes has established him—and the platforms he leads—as authoritative voices in professional cycling.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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ATENCIÓN: "Eusebio Unzué habla de Nairo Quintana, tras su encuentro en la Vuelta a España 2023, ¿negocian?" Ambos, se vieron las caras nuevamente, y se ve la gran amistad que tienen, y que se forjó en los años grandiosos del colombiano en el Movistar.😊 ciclismocolombiano.com/actualidad/unz…
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