Nairo Quintana leaves Arkea-Samsic as he vows to prove 'what an honest rider' he is amid tramadol controversy

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. I'm optimistic because I'm an honest person, I haven't done anything wrong, [or] illegal and I'm going to defend myself.” Quintana finished sixth at the Tour de France, 16’33” off overall winner Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma). It was his best performance at a Grand Tour since the 2019 Vuelta, where he came fourth.

«I am totally unaware of the use of this substance, and I deny having used it in my career,» said Quintana after the announcement. He has won the Giro d’Italia (2014), La Vuelta (2016) and finished on the Tour podium three times. — — - Stream the cycling season live and on-demand on discovery+.