Successful Tour de France sees Nairo Quintana close to renewing with Arkéa Samsic

Over the last few months there have been talks about Nairo Quintana's future, with rumours of several teams interested in the Colombian and that a move away from Arkéa Samsic seemed likely at the end of 2022. With the Tour de France now concluded, the mindset is different, and an agreement seems to be close.

“I am close to signing with them. The team keeps getting better and they respect and they want me," Quintana revealed in an interview with AS. "They listen to my opinions, and we want to continue if the option is there... This year we’ve been in the Top10 in all the main races, and that means that I’m still there and can fight against the young riders".

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Although falling ill in the final week, Quintana rode a strong Tour de France, with specifically strong performances at the Col du Granon and Mur de Péguère which have impressed at this time of his career, and he rode to a sixth place into Paris. "We keep working and trying. Cycling isn’t just the Tour, and there are a lot of other races and we’ve been close," he said.

With wins at the Tour de la Provence and Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, alongside Top5 places at Paris-Nice and the Vuelta a Catalunya, the Colombian has shown to still race at a very high level, and is in great part responsible for the promotion that Arkéa Samsic is set to go through at the end of the season.

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After the Tour the 32-year old has taken some time off the bike, and will be racing the Vuelta a Espana, which he won after similar preparation back in 2016. “It’s obvious there are young riders coming up and you have to respect that, but we are there to keep trying at least for the podium. And if you’re close, anything can happen," he said. 

With a route filled with climbing, Quintana will once again feel at home, and with injuries behind him he seems ready to target the overall classification. “The objective is the GC once again. We have strong riders on the team to take on these three weeks. The team time trial isn’t our strong point, but we will try to limit the losses. The other time trial in the middle of the race isn’t that long and I think it can be OK for me," he said. "The mountain stages, especially the 10 summit finales, are very good for me".

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