Quintana insists he's clean after ejection

PARIS • Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana on Wednesday denied taking a banned pain medication, after he was retrospectively disqualified from this year's Tour de France over a positive test result for tramadol.

Two-time runner-up Quintana, 32, finished sixth overall in the race that ended on July 24.

The pain medication has been on a list of International Cycling Union (UCI) prohibited substances since 2019.

"I know nothing about the use of this substance and deny ever having used it in my career," Quintana, who has pulled out of the Vuelta a Espana beginning today in the Netherlands, said in a statement published on Twitter.

"With my team of lawyers, we are exhausting all avenues to mount my defence."

Tramadol is banned only in competition and while he has been disqualified from the Tour after testing positive for the substance on both July 8 and 13, he will not be banned from future races.

The UCI said Quintana "has been sanctioned for an infringement of the in-competition ban on using tramadol... with the aim of protecting the safety and health of riders in light of the side effects of this substance".

The governing body added that "the analyses of two dried blood samples... revealed the presence of tramadol".

Quintana has 10 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the UCI said.

"As this is a first offence, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas is not declared ineligible and can participate in competitions," it added.

Quintana's Arkea-Samsic team said they were aware of the decision but would "make no further comment".

Quintana had said after the tramadol news that he intended to participate in the Vuelta.

But he released a video on Instagram yesterday in which he reversed his decision despite still being allowed to race.

"A few hours have gone by and I've been able to reflect and, for now, neither my head nor my body are in the right place to race competitively," he said.

On Tuesday, the Breton outfit announced Quintana had signed a contract extension until 2025.

He was the first Colombian to win a grand tour when he claimed Giro d'Italia glory in 2014 before adding a Vuelta triumph two years later.

Although he never won the Tour de France, he was an inspiration to many more Colombian cyclists who came after him, such as Egan Bernal, who in 2019 became his country's first winner of the world's most prestigious race.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS