'Retiring at my peak would have been selfish' - Nairo Quintana ends career at Giro dell'Emilia

Back in 2012, towards the end of his first season at Movistar, Quintana underscored his potential by beating Fredrik Kessiakoff to victory atop the Colle San Luca. He had already won at Morzine on that year’s Dauphiné and then played a striking role on behalf of Alejandro Valverde at his debut Vuelta a España, but that Giro dell’Emilia triumph felt like a statement of intent.

The following summer, Quintana capped a scintillating Tour de France debut with a victory at Semnoz and second place overall, and the rest is history. Quintana never achieved his sueño amarillo, but he was the harbinger of Colombian cycling’s second golden era in Europe. His victories at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España were followed by Egan Bernal’s Tour triumph in 2019.

The latter part of Quintana’s career was punctuated by controversy, most notably when he sat out the entire 2023 season after testing positive for Tramadol on the previous year’s Tour. But he returned to Movistar in 2024, lasting three more seasons before deciding to hang up his wheels.

Quintana’s lone success in that period came when he won this year’s Vuelta a Asturias, and he also went close to a stage win at Livigno on the 2024 Giro only to be caught and passed by Tadej Pogacar in the finale.

Speaking to the Fuera del Límite YouTube channel this week, Quintana explained why he had continued racing past his 36th birthday despite apparently diminishing returns.

“We could already see the decline coming. My wattage is still the same, I'm still performing very well, but there's a psychological fatigue,” Quintana said. “I’m someone who plans things very carefully, also to start other projects and make that transition. My family and I decided I would keep going for two years and then we’d start new projects. That’s how I operate. We made that decision and it's been the right one.” 

Quintana pushed back against the idea that he had made a mistake by not stepping away from cycling closer to his peak.

“For me, retiring at my peak would have been an act of ego or selfishness,” he said. “I wanted to keep contributing and giving back, which is what I’ve done over these two years too. 

“And when I was had the chance to shine, well, I was there. The last race I won this year was spectacular for me. Even though for many that won’t mean much, for me it’s one of the races that has fulfilled me immensely and gave me so much emotion.”

Quintana had planned to bid farewell to Movistar by riding the Vuelta, but he was surprisingly omitted from the eight-man selection, and the team went to claim an unexpected overall victory through Enric Mas.

It then looked as though the World Championships in Montreal would be Quintana’s final act as a professional, but on the start line, he confirmed that he would have one more race on Italian roads before exiting the stage.

On Saturday, Quintana leads the line for Movistar at the Giro dell’Emilia, where new world champion Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma Lease a Bike) are among the star names on show.