Giro and Vuelta winner Nairo Quintana (36) announces his retirement

Nairo Quintana is in his final season as a professional cyclist. It had been anticipated for some time that he would retire after 2026, but now the Colombian has officially announced his farewell. He made the announcement at a press conference ahead of the Tour of Catalonia.

The Vuelta a España (August 22–September 13) will be the last race of Quintana's career. After that follows "a new beginning," according to the former top climber. "I want to keep building. Start businesses and support athletes. Give something back to the people. I want more kids to dream like I have dreamed," he told the Spanish newspaper AS. "This journey continues with new dreams. It doesn’t end here; it is just beginning."

Twice runner-up in the Tour, wins in Giro and Vuelta
Quintana turned pro in 2011 with Colombia es Pasión-Café de Colombia after winning the Tour de l'Avenir in 2010. From 2012, he rode for Movistar, where he immediately broke through at age 22. That season, he won a mountain stage in the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Route du Sud, and the Giro dell'Emilia, among others.

A year later, Quintana won the Tour of the Basque Country and made his Tour de France debut. He emerged as a formidable rival to Chris Froome, especially in the final week, who took his first overall win. Quintana finished second, won the last mountain stage to Le Semnoz, and secured the polka dot jersey for Colombia.

Two years later, Quintana again finished second in the Tour (once more behind Froome), and in 2016 he ended third, but he never won the overall. However, he claimed victory in the Giro d'Italia (2014) and the Vuelta a España (2016). He won three stages in both the Giro and the Tour, and two in the Vuelta.

Quintana’s palmarès also includes Tirreno-Adriatico (twice), the Tour of Catalonia, and the Tour de Romandie. In total, he has won 51 races. His last victories, however, date back to 2022 when he was riding for Arkéa-Samsic, winning the Tour de la Provence and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var.

Tramadol
In 2022, Quintana also finished sixth in the Tour at an advanced age, but was later removed from the results. He tested positive for tramadol during that race. At the time, this painkiller was not on the WADA banned substances list but was prohibited by the UCI. Quintana appealed the disqualification, but the CAS rejected his appeal. A long and fruitless search for a new team followed.

Quintana’s career seemed to fizzle out, but Movistar saw value in bringing back the experienced climber and decided to give him another chance. In 2024, he joined the Spanish team where he had previously enjoyed a long and successful spell. The climber nearly won a stage in the Giro d’Italia as an early breakaway rider but was overtaken en route to Livigno by pink jersey wearer Tadej Pogacar.

New role
In recent years, Quintana hasn’t come as close to victory, but he remains important at Movistar, according to team director Maximilian Sciandri. “His consistency is now in different areas,” the Italian told us during the Tour of Oman. “Supervising, guiding, helping, talking, being a mentor. His role has shifted a bit. It’s no longer about results, but about passing experience to the younger riders. That is why we wanted him back in the team. Nairo is a great guy to have on board.”