28/01/2023

"The UCI is a mafia" - Jarlinson Pantano attacks UCI over what he feels is discrimination against Nairo Quintana

Jarlinson Pantano saw the end of of his pro career due to breaking anti-doping violations, and the Colombian has came out in defense of his compatriot Nairo Quintana after recent events, calling the UCI a 'mafia'.

"Nairo Quintana is a rider who restored the illusion to Colombians; that we were capable of winning the Tour de France," Pantano told Blu Radio. "He is the best rider in the history of Colombian cycling... Nairo broke all those barriers, he has won everything he has wanted; unfortunately, the only thing he has needed is the Tour de France. He is a rider who marked and changed the history of cycling in our country."

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One of the many riders who surged from the Colombian field during the 2010's was Pantano. The country thrived in it's early ranks and many of it's riders were scouted and travelled to Europe to continue their cycling career, however Pantano's ended in 2019 when he was suspended for four years due to the presence of recombinant erythropoietin in his body.

Recently, Miguel Ángel López was fired from Astana due to heavy connections with a dismantles doping ring headlined by Dr. Marcos Maynar but has returned to racing with continental Team Medellín-EPM and is currently leading the Vuelta a San Juan. Nairo Quintana saw his Tour de France results nullified due to two different positive tests for the painkiller Tramadol, which has seen him fail to net a contract into 2023.

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"I feel that the UCI is a mafia. After all, you know what you have done and today I see that it is a mafia," Pantano accuses. "Nairo is being blamed for tramadol, a substance prohibited by the Movement for Credible Cycling , where the team to which Nairo belonged participates. Tramadol is a substance that does not change anything at all, nor will it improve your performance."

The Colombian was expected to retire from pro cycling, but in a press conference held this Wednesday he revealed he continues the search for a contract and insists he is keen on continuing his career at the highest level in the years to come.

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"Unfortunately, I feel, with the case of Nairo and Miguel Ángel López, that the UCI wants to harm us the image to us Colombians and it is succeeding I walk Why don't European teams want to have a Nairo Quintana right now? Because they damaged his image," he concluded.