ANDthe case of Nairo Quintana and the positive for tramadol during the 2022 Tour de France, which led to his disqualification after placing sixth overall, while racing for Arkéa Samsic. But what happened afterwards has left more questions than certainties and now more doubts are beginning to be raised about his situation.
It’s known that tramadol begins to be part of the list of doping substances of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) from January 2024, but since 2019 the UCI (International Cycling Union) began to penalize it with harsh punishments. And it is understood that Nairo was sanctioned for violating the ban on its use on July 8 and 13 during the 2022 Tour de France.
In this context, the measures with the rider born in Boyacá (Colombia) are not strange and it is also understood as normal that he is without a squad and waiting to resolve his situation.
The really strange thing is that the same UCI did not punish with the same measure in all the 57 cases of positives for plots that occurred in 2022. Only Nairo and Mykhaylo Kononenko, a Ukrainian who tested positive at the World Championships of the same year, were exposed and sanctioned by the highest cycling authority.
This is how he highlighted it Raul Banqueria Spanish journalist specializing in cycling and data from the same sport, with a revealing piece of information about the UCI measure with Quintana and Kononenko:
Among the 57 positive samples in 2022, only 2 cyclists were sanctioned: Nairo Quintana and Mykhaylo Kononenko. We do not know what happened to the rest of the positive samples.
And as if that were not enough, the issue has been taking a stir and raising doubts in other world cycling environments, that is why the French communicator renaud breban He also highlighted that in the cases of Nairo Quintana and Mykhaylo Kononenko there was a different action from the other 55 positives officially reported by the UCI in official documents, without giving names or further details:
One piece of information went a bit unnoticed: 57 runners tested positive for tramadol in 2022. Two runners were penalized: Nairo Quintana and Mykhaylo Kononenko. Who are the others?
While the countdown for tramadol to officially enter the list of prohibited doping substances and it is known that the punishment will be from 2 to 4 years, for now there is no sanction in time from the UCI to Quintana and this was read in the statement after the Tour: “Quintana has been penalized for violating the prohibition on the use of tramadol in competition established in the UCI Medical Regulations… Violations of the prohibition on the use of tramadol in competition are infractions according to the UCI Medical Regulations. They do not constitute infractions of anti-doping rules”.
Nairo could run the following competitions because it was his first offense, the only punishment was his disqualification from the Tour de France and they affirmed that “is not declared ineligible” for any team. But he decided to appeal to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) while Arkéa Samsic released him.
However, the decision of this highest authority in the sports field was to ratify the UCI measures and this is how the cycling organization reacted:
The International Cycling Union welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirming the disqualification of Colombian cyclist Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas from the 2022 Tour de France for violating the ban on the use of tramadol in competition
Before this panorama, many believe that Nairo is right in his allegations before the UCI and the TASwhile others understand that the sanction for the Colombian is fair and it would be much fairer if the other positives for tramadol had the same punishment and the same exposure.
Without a team and waiting for his situation to evolve, Nairo participated in the Giro d’Italia Ride Like a Pro Ecuador, which took place in Ecuadorian territory. But A special event is coming for Cómbita (Boyacá) with the Gran Fondo Nairo Quintana in its 2023 edition.
It will have the participation of 5,000 people touring the roads of the department of Santander, it will take place between November 24 and 26 and he hopes it will be a success, to continue showing that he is a benchmark of national cycling and people still follow him.
