Gianni Savio has said that Nairo Quintana is paying for the mistakes of cycling's past as the Colombian climber continues his search for a 2023 team after being let go by Arkéa-Samsic.
The veteran team manager has moved his operation - formerly known as Androni Giocattoli - to Colombia this year and recently presented a new-look squad and new identity at Continental level with GW Shimano-Sidermec.
Savio's 16-man team boasts 13 Colombians, and the Italian has a long association with the country and South America, with riders including Jose Serpa, José Rujano, Egan Bernal, and Iván Sosa having passed through his team over the years.
Speaking to Colombian newspaper La Opinión, Savio gave his take on the plight of Colombian stars Quintana, who was stripped of his 2022 Tour de France results after testing positive for tramadol, and Miguel Angel López, who was dismissed by Astana over alleged links to a doctor arrested in a doping investigation.
"Nairo is unlucky to be in this difficult situation," he said of Quintana, who was technically sanctioned under medical - not anti-doping - rules.
"He could race, and he's never been disqualified. But today's cycling unfortunately still pays for the mistakes of the past.
"On the case of López, it is difficult to make a judgement," he said about the former Giro d'Italia podium finisher, who has moved to the Colombian team, Medellín-EPM.
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"Those who know the situation know what happened. It's a strange moment for him, but you have to appreciate what he's doing, racing with a Colombian team."
Savio will be hoping to bring on a new generation of Colombian riders at his revamped team, where four of the riders are teenagers and eight more are aged 23 or under.
One promising name on the roster is 18-year-old Jonathan Guatibonza, who recently triumphed from a mass sprint on stage 3 of the Venezuelan stage race, the Vuelta al Tachira.
"He is not yet 19 years old, but he could become the next Egan Bernal. He's a rider to whom we will have to pay a lot of attention from here on," Savio said, before going on to talk about Bernal and his recovery from serious injury.
"I really hope he will be the rider he was in 2019. I've always loved Colombia because it's a country that has fascinated me, and I know it as a country where cycling is a national sport. For 2023, I think that Sergio Higuita, Rigoberto Urán, Dani Martínez and Bernal will be protagonists."
Savio's new-look squad for 2023
Gianni Savio presents his 2023 GW Shimano-Sidermec team in Medellín (Image credit: GW Shimano-Sidermec)
Many of the Savio's top riders have moved elsewhere over the winter in light of former sponsor Drone Hopper's financial troubles, with Natnael Tesfatsion and Eduardo Sepúlveda following EF Education-EasyPost riders Andrea Piccolo and Jefferson Cepeda out the exit door.
Thirteen Colombians, including Jhonatan Restrepo, fill out the majority of the roster, while Italians Gabriele Benedetti and Alessandro Bisolti and Norwegian Trym Holter make up the foreign contingent at the new-look squad.
Speaking at the team presentation at a Medellín hotel, Savio talked about the struggles of being forced to start again while also speaking positively of the new project with Colombian bike brand GW as well as long-time partner, Italian steel company Sidermec.
"They completely displaced us," Savio said. "Marco Bellini and I managed to finish last season after the serious damage caused by the non-payments of Drone Hopper.
"We were able to restart with a squad I am particularly pleased with, due to my personal bond with Colombia, a nation that in the past gave me great satisfaction.
"[It's] a squad based on a 'youth project', which started successfully at the Vuelta al Tachira," Savio said. "With the stage victory of 18-year-old Jonatan Guatibonza, the youngest winner in the history of the Andean Vuelta."
As well as GW, Shimano, and Sidermec, a number of other sponsors have remained loyal to the squad, with Androni Giocattoli, Tre Colli, Selle Italia, OMZ, and Work Service among the brands to stick with Savio for his new venture.
The team is set to race in both South America and in Italy this season, with races such as the Trofeo Laigueglia, Settimana Coppi e Bartali, and Tour of the Alps on the schedule for the spring.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.
