Nairo Quintana has again hinted he has found a team for 2023 but Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux and EF Education-EasyPost were quick to insist that the Colombian will not ride for them in 2023.
Quintana spoke in Colombia as he launched a coffee and a clothing brand, saying he had as team for 2023 and could target the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España but refused to name the team. Colombian radio station Antena 2, who interviewed Quintana, named EF Education-EasyPost and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux as possible future teams.
Quintana has been without a team since leaving Arkéa-Samsic in September. He has since failed to overturn his Tramadol case at the Court for Arbitration for Sport and as a consequence has lost his sixth place overall at the 2022 Tour de France.
In recent weeks Quintana has been linked to his former team Movistar, Bahrain Victorious and Astana Qazaqstan, and now EF Education-EasyPost and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux.
Astana Qazaqstan and Bahrain Victorious were quick to deny any interest while Movistar also took to social media to explain they have reached the UCI maximum of 30 riders for 2023, describing rumours as part of ‘No News November’.
Aike Visbeek, the performance director at Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, also dismissed the idea of signing Quintana, comparing the reports to a parody tweet the team made recently about signing football star Cristiano Ronaldo after he left Manchester United.
“Am barely recovered from calming things down around Christiano’s proposed arrival, and now we have Nairo,” he joked.
In a more serious message to Cyclingnews, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert said that reports on Quintana joining the team were a 'False rumor'.
Vaughters added his team to the list of those not interested or not able to sign Quintana by tweeting: “Uh. Hmm. First I’ve heard of this. Might be tricky considering our roster is full.” before enjoying Thanksgiving Day in the USA.
EF Education-EasyPost has signed Richard Carapaz and retained Rigoberto Uran for 2023 and so is unlikely to sign or need Quintana, especially after his Tramadol case.
Quintana turned down an offer made via social media from the Team Medellín EPM Continental team. He claimed he has a team for 2023 but was evasive about who exactly it is.
"Yes we know (the team for 2023), but we still have to be calm. Later we will announce the decisions we have made and what will happen in the future. Later we will comment on everything related to the team and my career,”
He refused to say if it is a WorldTour team when asked if it was Movistar.
"We can't say or commit to anyone. Later on we'll be talking about what's next for Nairo Quintana," he concluded.
