His name is permanently deleted from the list. On Thursday the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed Nairo Quintana’s appeal against her disqualification during the last Tour de France for the use of a painkiller prohibited by medical regulation. 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 disqualify him purely and simply from the Grande Boucle. In question: the presence of tramadol in the blood samples taken by the mountaineer during the event.
The analyzes of “Two dried blood samples provided by the runner on 8 and 13 July” the last time “revealed the presence of tramadol and its two main metabolites”, explained the UCI in its press release. Competitive use of this opioid family pain reliever is 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 especially the risks of drowsiness and loss of attention that increase the risk of falling while running.
No team for a month
However, the authority has specified that it is not a question of “Violation of the anti-doping regulation” but D ‘“violations of the UCI medical regulations” and that the runner could appeal against the decision. What he decided to do before the Arbitration Court of Sport, blowing up his planned participation in the Tour of Spain in August “To be able to beg [s] a cause “. It is difficult to imagine, however, how the Vuelta could have run given the context, even if “since it is a first offense”, Nairo Quintana “Is not declared ineligible and can therefore participate in competitions”as explained by the UCI.
For this, the 32-year-old climber should regain the confidence of a team. On 30 September the runner announced that he would be leaving the French team Arkéa-Samsic, of which he wore the colors 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’s before the revelation of his criminal champions … Will the rider who finished second in the Tour in 2013 and 2015 be able to convince a new team to hire him?
