Perico Delgado, one of the best Spanish cyclists in history and current RTVE commentator, has given an interview to the colleagues of VBAR Caracol in which he has given his opinion on the situation that Nairo Quintana is living, who continues without a team after his positive for tramadol in the last Tour de France.
"What is happening to Nairo Quintana I am watching with great sorrow. Not only because Nairo Quintana is a great champion, but because I have also been a cyclist and have lived through difficult situations, what is happening to Nairo Quintana is that I don't understand him since last season," explained Delgado.
The 1988 Tour de France winner speaks of a "camouflaged" sanction due to the fact that Nairo is not being able to find a team despite the fact that he has already been sanctioned and that the CAS assured that he had not doped, as tramadol is a banned drug that does not improve cyclists' performance:
"That you suffer a camouflaged sanction so to speak already really has no sanction but cycling people seem to want to enforce a sanction that there is no sanction."
Perico, as he has been known since he hung up his bike, also included Miguel Angel Lopez in the bag of those unjustly sanctioned without anything proven:
"It's really a shame that this sport that we love so much as cycling is not able to be strong in the face of the helplessness that Nairo Quintana is suffering as well as Miguel Ángel López when it comes to finding a team. Neither of the two is sanctioned and therefore can be in a team but it is seen that there is a pressure and an environment that looks the other way and does not want them. Nairo is going through a really tough situation".
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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