The veteran, who will retire at the end of the season, is not on the eight-man list led by Enric Mas and Cian Uijtdebroeks. Venezuelan sprinter Orluis Aular has taken his place.
No grand finale in a Grand Tour for Nairo Quintana . The Colombian rider, who announced his retirement at the end of the season, was sensationally excluded from the Movistar team for the Vuelta a España, starting soon. This decision has left fans and industry insiders stunned, considering that the Spanish Grand Tour was supposed to be the ideal stage for the final dance in the career of one of the great climbers of the last decade.
Quintana, 36, is experiencing his farewell season with 51 days of racing and eight stage races already under his belt in 2025. His last significant outing was a respectable 18th place in the Vuelta a Burgos, but evidently it wasn't enough to convince the green-and-white management to bet on him for the Spanish team's most important stage race of the year.
Team Movistar has instead chosen an eight-man squad led by 23-year-old Cian Uijtdebroeks and 31-year-old Enric Mas. According to Spanish sports newspaper AS , the final decision was made directly by general manager Eusebio Unzué, who has chosen Venezuelan sprinter Orluis Aular to complete the team, a rider who has already impressed this year with a second-place finish in stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia.
Neither the team nor Quintana himself have yet commented on the exclusion, a silence that weighs heavily, given that the Colombian had prepared with a ten-day training camp specifically for the Vuelta, which he considered his final major goal of the season. With the Vuelta now off the radar—barring any dramatic last-minute changes of heart—Quintana's only remaining chance to finish on a high note could be the Road World Championships in Montreal, Canada.
Quintana, it should be remembered, announced his retirement back in March, but he hasn't stopped generating excitement: in April, he won a stage and the overall title at the Vuelta Asturias, dedicating the victory to his compatriot Cristian Camilo Muñoz, who passed away just a few days ago. It's a reminder that, Vuelta or no Vuelta, the career of one of the great protagonists of world cycling—winner of the 2014 Giro d'Italia and the 2016 Vuelta a España—still deserves sincere applause, even without the stage everyone expected.
Photo: Sprint Cycling Agency
Sports journalist and cycling enthusiast, following professional cycling for over 10 years. Collaborates with FantaCycling to bring you the best analysis and news from the world of cycling.
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The veteran, who will retire at the end of the season, is not on the eight-man list led by Enric Mas and Cian Uijtdebroeks. Venezuelan sprinter Orluis Aular has taken his place.
