BACK HOME. The return of Nairo Quintana to the Movistar Team can’t be conceived only in sporting terms, rather than analyzed especially taking the emotional ones into account. It’s the story of an outstanding athlete, a symbol of sports in Latin American, looking for an opportunity to relaunch his professional career, joining a squad which finds on his wheel a way to bring back the success he’s always sought for during the course of its history. What the return of the ‘Cóndor’ represents, and the results he can achieved after nearly a year without putting a number on his back, will be the main story of the Telefónica-backed squad’s 45th season in cycling. His children, Mariana and Tomás, will be able to enjoy his dad back with the colours he became famous with.
NATURAL TALENT. His story is very well known. Born to a humble family with two brothers and two sisters in Tunja, nearly 3,000 meters above sea level, he helped out at the family business – a small store selling the products from the farm and orchard next to their house – while attending classes at school. In order to get to the latter and from age 15, he started using a heavy bicycle he had to ride for 16km, downhill on the way to the school and uphill on the way back (no less than 8% gradient). Despite using a mountain-bike and carrying a backpack with all books needed for school, Nairo was able to follow the pace of the professional riders training nearby. No better way to show his natural talent. The earliest FTP tests he underwent in Europe at age 28 “were a mistake”, or so said their sports directors, due to the incredible figures he reached. Later on, with Boyacá es para Vivirla in 2009, or Café de Colombia in 2010 -with whom he won the Tour de l’Avenir-, or at his Movistar Team debut -claiming in 2012 the Vuelta a Murcia, the Route du Sud, the Giro dell’Emilia and the Queen stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné-, the true phenomenon behind those came to the fore.
MADE FOR BIG TOURS. He rides the Tour de France for the first time in 2013 and astonishes the world at 23 years of age with a stage win, a 2nd place overall and the KOM and Best Young rider jerseys. He will be back on the podium again in 2015 (2nd) and 2016 (3rd). In 2014, he becomes the first ever Colombian to win the Giro d’Italia – and in his race debut; he will be 2nd in 2017, just half a minute off the final race lead. And in 2016, he becomes the 17th rider ever to get onto the podium of all three Grand Tours by winning the Vuelta a España. He’s got six podium finishes on GTs, and has won stages in all Giro (3), Tour (3) and La Vuelta (2). Nairo always says that his victories atop the Lagos de Covadonga (Vuelta, ’16) and Col du Portet (TDF, ’18) have been crucial for his career: “Those are legendary climbs, and those victories will remain in history.” He’s also conquered overall success at nearly twenty one-week courses: Avenir, Murcia, País Vasco, San Luis, Catalunya, Valencia, Romandie and 2x Provence, Alpes Maritimes, Asturias, Route du Sud, Burgos and Tirreno-Adriatico.
2020-22: Arkéa Samsic
2012-19: Movistar Team
2010-11: Café de Colombia
2009: Boyacá es para Vivirla