Nairo Quintana has been under the spotlight for negative reasons, as his positive results for tramadol have seen his Tour de France results nullified, and he has abandoned the Vuelta a Espana in order to focus on his defense.
Andrés Charria, Quintana's lawyer, has said in an interview with Blu Radio that "the truth is, it's a very strange process. What's happening with Nairo is something new, that the UCI has concocted. This is not doping, but it appears like doping."
Quintana tested positive for tramadol, a painkiller which is prohibited in competition and was stripped of his Tour de France result. "It's important to ask what the UCI is looking for, because if it's about health, that's a fundamental pillar of WADA, and if WADA doesn't consider it harmful on health grounds... it's complicated," he argumented.
"The sample wasn't analysed in a WADA-accredited lab," he said. "OK, I know it's not a doping case, but they have access to the WADA lab, so why not use it? We don't know where the sample was stored, there is no B-sample... it's strange. I'm sure the process itself is reliable, but who carries it out, how they carry it out - all that is not so clear".
"These are protocols the UCI has concocted. The UCI may be good at organising the sport of cycling but I'm not sure it's very good at carrying out hard research or making protocols for a substance," he accused. The arguments against Quintana's use of the substance were not clear, however Charria is clear on the discussion.
"Nairo assures me - and I believe him - that he did not consume tramadol. We have to do some analysis to see what happened. There was no tramadol in Nairo's system. We need to find a pharmacologist who can say what might have happened," he concluded.
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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.
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- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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