Nairo Quintana has left Arkea-Samsic as he fights to clear his name after breaching an in-competition ban on painkiller tramadol.
The Colombian, who only signed a three-year extension with the team in August, was wiped from the Tour de France 2022 results after the positive test.
However, the UCI said it was not a breach of anti-doping rules, and he was free to continue competing. Ad Instead, Quintana skipped La Vuelta to take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and has now left Arkea-Samsic as he awaits a verdict.
Tour de FranceQuintana wiped from 2022 Tour results over tramadol use17/08/2022 AT 14:07 “I want to thank the Arkea-Samsic team for these three years spent with ups and downs, but to which I was able to bring my experience,” he said. “I will keep you informed of my future in the next few weeks and prove what an honest rider I am. “I filed an appeal with CAS and I continue to work with my lawyers.