With WorldTour cyclist Nairo Quintana’s career in limbo and without a contract for next season due to a positive test for Tramadol and subsequent disqualification from the 2022 Tour de France, he decided to hold a gran fondo party for 1500 amateur cyclists at Gran Fondo Nairo Quintana Mexico on Sunday.

The Colombian rider has a huge following in Mexico, including the country’s most successful cyclist Raul Alcala, with many dedicated fans making a pilgrimage to San Luis Potosi to ride with the former Vuelta a Espana and Giro d’Italia champion.

The 140 kilometer gran fondo route included two timed “KOM Crono Escalada” uphill segments to determine overall rankings based on a rider’s sum time to complete the segments. Each segment covered 15 kilometers with 225 meters of vertical gain.

For the men 23 year-old Chilean pro rider Guillermo Guardian Beltran (Start Cycling Team) won with a time of 1:11:45, over 23 seconds ahead of Julian Correa (1:12:08) and Luis Nanez (1:12:09).

Former professional Brenda Santoyo Perez, 26, raced up the timed segments in 1:28:41 to win for the women. Andrea Gabriela Flores (1:29:25) finished second, with Fabriola Corona Garcia third in 1:30:26.

Next month, Quintana will also host Gran Fondo Nairo Quintana Antioquia in Colombia on 20 November.

Photos/Media: GF Nairo Quintana