There’ll be no Grand Tour grand finale for the retiring Nairo Quintana this month after the Colombian was surprisingly left out of Movistar’s selection for the Vuelta a España.
Quintana, 36, is racing the final season of his career this year, with 51 race days and eight stage races under his belt to date. He won’t bow out with a Grand Tour, however, after racing to a solid 18th place at the recent Vuelta a Burgos.
Movistar have instead named an eight-man selection headed up by 23-year-old Cian Uijtdebroeks and 31-year-old Enric Mas.
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Earlier this week, Spanish sports paper AS reported that Movistar would not be selecting the Colombian veteran, noting that general manager Eusebio Unzué made the final decision.
AS journalist Dani Miranda reported that the final spot would instead be filled by Venezuelan sprinter Orluis Aular, who earlier this year picked up a second place on stage 4 of the Giro d’Italia.
Neither the team nor Quintana have yet commented on his exclusion.
Quintana had planned for the Vuelta a España to be his professional cycling send-off, and AS reported that he embarked on a 10-day training camp ahead of the race. With no Vuelta on his schedule for the end of the season – barring any last-minute drop-outs – Quintana could instead look to call time on his career with a ride at the Road World Championships in Montreal, Canada.
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He announced his retirement back in March and has since picked up what look to be the final victories of a storied career which has included Grand Tour triumphs at the 2014 Giro d’Italia and 2016 Vuelta a España. In April, he won a stage and the overall at the Vuelta Asturias, dedicated his win to compatriot Cristian Camilo Muñoz, who died earlier in the week.
With no Quintana on the Movistar roster in Spain, the team will instead look to Uijtdebroeks and Mas. Iván Romeo, fourth at the Tour de Pologne, Raúl García Pierna, in the break eight times at the Tour de France, and Pablo Castrillo, twice a stage winner at the 2024 Vuelta, will provide key support. Aular and 34-year-old road captain Jorge Arcas round out the selection.
Belgian racer Uijtdebroeks will be starting his second Grand Tour of the year after falling ill and abandoning during the first week of the Tour de France. The former Tour de l’Avenir winner is yet to replicate his breakthrough eighth place at the 2023 Vuelta, and Movistar’s hopes will be high for another top placing.
Mas, meanwhile, has been there and done that at Spain’s biggest race. He has finished on the podium there on four occasions, including three runner-up spots. Fifth place at the recent Vuelta a Burgos suggests he’s in good form, though with Tadej Pogačar on the start list, a second overall, another second place looks to be the height of his ambitions.
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