At Gran Fondo Nairo Mexico in San Luis Potosi on Saturday Colombian Nairo Quintana announced that he has finally found a job back in the WorldTour pro peloton – with Team Movistar offering him a one-year contract for 2024.

Since testing positive for Tramadol in an anti-doping test and being disqualified from a top 10 Tour de France finish in 2022, the 33 year-old Quintana had been unable to find a team willing to bring him on board. So he focused on organizing his two namesake gran fondos – Gran Fondo Nairo Mexico on 29 October 2023 and Gran Fondo Nairo Colombia on 26 November 2023.

In addition, the former Team Arkea-Samsic rider continued training and in July participated in the Giro d’Italia – Ride Like A Pro Gran Fondo in Ecuador alongside fellow gran tour champion Alberto Contador.

“It’s super emotional for me to be back home. It’s been such a tough year. The sleepless nights, so many days of sacrifice, going on my bike and trying to keep pushing, under the rain or the scorching sun. But it was all worth it. I won’t waste this opportunity,” Quintana said in a press release.

Adding, “I know the values of the team, the values of sport. I will give my everything do things right, and I want to help the team achieve the best results. I’m so incredibly thankful to the Movistar Team, Telefónica, the squad, the whole squad, for this great opportunity, which I’ve been waiting for for so long.”

Quintana previously rode for Team Movistar from 2012-2019, during which he won the Giro d’Italia (2014) and Vuelta a Espana (2016) before moving to Team Arkea-Samsic in 2020.

Photo Credit: Gran Fondo Nairo Mexico

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