His name is permanently erased from the list. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday rejected Nairo Quintana’s appeal against his disqualification during the last Tour de France due to the use of a painkiller prohibited by medical regulations. The Colombian had finished sixth in the general classification during the last edition, but the International Cycling Union (UCI) had decided, on August 17, to purely and simply disqualify him from the Grande Boucle. In question: the presence of tramadol in blood samples taken from the climber during the event.
The analyzes of “two dried blood samples provided by the runner on July 8 and 13” last have “revealed the presence of tramadol and its two main metabolites”, explained the UCI in its press release. The use in competition of this painkiller from the opioid family has been banned in all cycling disciplines since March 1, 2019. Its ban aims “to preserve the health and safety of the runner in light of the side effects of tramadol”, justifies the UCI. And in particular the risks of drowsiness and loss of attention which increase the risk of falling while running.
No team for a month
The authority specified however that it is not a question of “anti-doping rule violations” but D’“breaches of the UCI medical regulations” and that the runner could appeal the decision. What he decided to do before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, skipping his planned participation in the Tour of Spain during the month of August “to be able to plead [s] a cause». It is hard to imagine, however, how he could have run the Vuelta given the context, even if “as it is a first offence”, Nairo Quintana “is not declared ineligible and may therefore take part in competitions”as the UCI explained.
For that, the 32-year-old climber would have to regain the confidence of a team. On September 30, the runner announced that he was leaving the French formation Arkéa-Samsic, whose colors he wore for three years. At the beginning of August, he had just formalized an extension of his contract with the Breton team for the next three years. But that was before the revelation of his criminal samples… Will the rider who finished second in the Tour in 2013 and 2015 manage to convince a new team to hire him?
