Nairo Quintana misses on Asturias title defence as he recovers from injuries

Nairo Quintana was planned to start the Vuelta as Asturias tomorrow to defend the title he's gotten in 2021 however the Arkéa Samsic won't be taking to the start as he is still recovering from the injuries he's suffered at the Tour of Turkey.

In Turkey, where he was also a big contender for the overall win, Quintana crashed twice in the opening stage which saw him loose time and saw his teammate Nacer Bouhanni involved in a freak accident where a spectator took several rider in the peloton down. Whilst the Frenchman will still be out of action for a while, the team also suffers the consequences as Quintana has focused on recovering from the crashes and will miss the Spanish stage-race.

After the Tour of Turkey's queen stage, team DS Yvon Ledanois said that "Nairo was very motivated to give it everything, but in sports there are no miracles. Since his crash, Nairo couldn't express himself completely, he has a lot of pain." The Colombian is likely to extend his recovery period, before beginning his preparation for the Tour de France and Vuelta a España which he will be targeting later in the year.