“There is not much left” – Nairo Quintana hints at retirement as Giro and Vuelta champion reaches career crossroads

The words were not dramatic, nor delivered for effect, but they carried weight. Speaking quietly in Oman, Nairo Quintana acknowledged that time is catching up with him, admitting that the horizon is no longer open-ended.

“We keep adding years and moving forward, and the experience is already there,” Quintana said in conversation with AS. “It is time to see that there is not much left and that you have to start thinking about other things as well.”

At 36, riding his eleventh season with Movistar Team across two spells, Quintana is no longer framed by what he might become.

Instead, his comments point to a rider weighing how, and when, the final chapter should be written.

Despite the reflective tone, Quintana is not racing as a farewell act. His early-season schedule has been deliberate, beginning in warmer conditions after a cold winter in Andorra and focused on building momentum rather than chasing nostalgia.

“I feel good,” he said. “We started the season early because I want to have a strong first part of the year and build good sensations for the rest of the season.”

His role in Oman has been clear. Rather than riding purely for himself, Quintana has positioned his experience alongside emerging talent, particularly Diego Pescador, aiming to stay near the front while helping shape a general classification challenge. “To try to always be at the front with Diego Pescador and aim for the general classification with him,” he explained.

That balance between contribution and personal ambition has increasingly defined his later years in the peloton.

Quintana’s standing in the sport was forged long before this reflective phase. His breakthrough came early, winning the Tour de l'Avenir in 2010 before rapidly establishing himself among the elite of Grand Tour racing.

The peak years followed. He won the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2016, becoming one of the few riders of his generation to claim overall victory in two different Grand Tours. Alongside those titles came multiple podium finishes at the Tour de France, including second place overall in both 2013 and 2015.

Across the 2010s, Quintana was defined by consistency in the high mountains. Stage wins in all three Grand Tours and repeated general classification podiums made him a fixture at the sharp end of three-week racing, even as the sport evolved around him.

That legacy still resonates within the peloton. In Oman, Quintana noted that younger riders from rival teams continue to seek him out, not for tactical advice, but for photos and moments.

“We try to give our best, the maximum, while respecting all our rivals,” he said. “It is also very valuable to try to set a good example and to pass that on to younger riders.”

Within Movistar, his presence now sits alongside a new generation. The team is no longer built around him, but his experience remains part of its structure as riders like Romeo, Canal and Pescador take on increasing responsibility.

Whether 2026 becomes Quintana’s final professional season remains unresolved, and he is careful not to frame it as a decision already taken.

“I do not know yet,” he said. “We will see how the season goes and then decide what we do, but for now I feel good, with good sensations, and I hope to have the luck to avoid injuries.”

That uncertainty extends to his race programme. Quintana has not ruled out another Grand Tour appearance, speaking openly about his affection for the Vuelta and his openness to riding the Giro again if required.

For all the talk of transition, Quintana does not speak like a rider ready to drift quietly into the background. The competitive instinct, he insists, has not dulled.

“To be on the podium in a race. To win,” he said when asked for a wish for the season. “The instinct is still there and, even if the dog gets old, it does not lose its sense of smell.”

It is that instinct, paired with a growing awareness of time, that defines this moment in Quintana’s career. Not a farewell, not yet, but a clear acknowledgement that the crossroads is real, and that the next choice will shape how one of his generation’s defining Grand Tour riders steps away from the sport.