Good news for Mas: Quintana gets another chance with his favorite team despite anonymous year

Nairo Quintana has extended his contract at Movistar by one year. The 34-year-old Colombian was facing the end of his contract, and the lack of news meant that a departure from the WorldTour was thought for a long time. Despite an anonymous season, Quintana will get a year to prove himself.

Quintana and Movistar found each other heading into 2024 after the Colombian climber opted for an adventure at Team Arkéa-B&B Hotels at the end of 2019. There, he attracted a lot of attention due to a positive test for the drug Tramadol. This was not banned then, but Quintana was removed from competition and later even sent away from the French team.

We did not see Quintana in action in 2023, but Movistar offered him the chance to return in 2024. The previously successful GC rider's only achievement was second place in the fifteenth stage of the Giro d'Italia. He finished the Giro in nineteenth place, which, of course, contrasts with his superb past results: wins in the Giro in 2014, wins in the Vuelta in 2016, and second in the Tour twice.

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Nairo Quintana

Quintana's contract delayed due to private circumstances

The lesser results were due to physical discomfort toward the spring and a crash in the Tour of Catalonia. According to AS, it was already evident that Quintana and Movistar wanted to continue with each other, and this had been clear for some time. However, private circumstances caused delays. "Quintana's father is in hospital after a traffic accident, and he has also been preparing recently for his Gran Fondo Mexico, which will be held in December," it reads.

"The contract renewal should allow me to perform more consistently," Quintana explained in a video message. "I want to compete with the others again and help Enric (Mas) as much as possible in the grand tours."

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