Movistar have confirmed that Colombian star Nairo Quintana will definitively call time on his 16-year career at the Giro dell'Emilia on Saturday, the same race he won back at the start of his time with the Spanish World Team in 2012.
The Giro dell'Emilia was one of the first ever major races that Quintana won, aged 24 and at the end of his first season with Movistar. He soloed to victory ahead of two professionals who have long since retired - Fredrik Kessiakoff, who ended his career in 2014 and Franco Pellizotti, who hung up his wheels in 2018.
Movistar confirmed on social media that after rumours that he'd end his racing at the World Championships in Canada, Quintana will in fact bow out in Europe on Saturday. He'll head a team also containing Roger Adrià, Jorge Arcas, Pelayo Sánchez, Juan Pedro López, Michel Hessman and fellow Colombian Einer Rubio.
Latest Videos FromCyclingnews
The sense that Quintana is closing a circle at Emilia will be a strong one, given his victory in the uphill finish in Bologna's ferociously steep ascent of San Luca came in his first year with a WorldTour team at Movistar.
That was after two promising seasons at Colombia es Pasión, a small national squad where Quintana had taken a breakthrough King of the Mountains title at the Volta a Catalunya in 2011. It preceded his victories in the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and Vuelta a España in 2016, as well as spearheading the opposition to Team Sky's domination of the Tour de France.
For Quintana's 'last dance', as Movistar called it on social media, in Emilia Quintana will face opposition ranging from newly crowned World Champion Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), racing in his rainbow jersey for the first time, to Pinarello-Q36.5's Tom Pidcock - second in both 2024 and 2025. Also present will be Mikel Landa (Soudal-QuickStep), Quintana's former Movistar teammate and one-time member of the team's 'trident' of GC contenders that also included both Quintana and Alejandro Valverde.
Subscribe to Cyclingnews for comprehensive race coverage of both the UCI Road and Gravel World Championships, alongside the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia. Subscribers get unlimited access to exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.
