Bogotá (AFP) – Although off the roads he was shy, on the bicycle Nairo Quintana transformed into a daring beetle that shook Colombia. The son of a peasant family in the Andes fought epic battles that made him a legend.

First modification: 03/10/2026 - 18:00

The 36-year-old cyclist ran his last race this Saturday at the Tour de Emilia, where the entire peloton paid tribute to this little giant who brought together - perhaps like no one else - the ingredients of a Colombian hero.

The humble origin anchored to an agricultural region in the department of Boyacá (center), the ability to climb mountain peaks and the triumphs for a country very fond of the sport of cranks...

But like every hero, Quintana had an Achilles heel: the shadow of doping clouded the final stretch of his career, which began in 2009.

As a child he raced on an old bicycle conditioned by his father. Then in adolescence and for years he was one of the great entertainers of the largest European competitions, mainly between 2013 and 2019.

In the Tour de France he became the eternal candidate for the leader's yellow jersey, facing the British Chris Froome, dominator of cycling at that time.

The "yellow dream"

The Colombians vibrated with their races in a national cause baptized as the "yellow dream", a desire for a title that never materialized, although Quintana climbed onto the Grande Boucle podium three times.

His country was satisfied with the consecrations in the Giro d'Italia (2014) and the Vuelta a España (2016).

I was a "child who grew up among the mountains in Boyacá, where life was not easy but full of dreams. A child who did not have everything but had something stronger: the desire to get ahead," said Nairoman when announcing in March that the current season would be his last season.

Quintana embodied the concept of the Colombian "beetles," which describes coffee cyclists, generally of short stature and light weight, capable of climbing steep roads with less suffering than their European rivals.

The Spanish Movistar Team was his first and last team in the elite. At a time when Froome, a four-time Tour winner, seemed to have no competition, Nairo's attacks gave him more than one scare.

"Life strategist"

In Colombia, his audacity paralyzed daily work. Many took a morning break to watch the idol on television challenging the best in the world.

His greatest exploits endure in national memory, such as second place in the 2013 Tour in his first participation at just 23 years old, when he reached the finish line on the verge of fainting and his attempts to dethrone Froome in the rain.

"(I am) a runner with a strong mentality, stronger than his physique, I have been a life strategist, since I was very little, and that has helped me in my sports career," he told Bocas magazine in 2018.

Quintana leaves cycling with 53 professional victories, more than anyone in Colombia. His victory in the Giro was the country's greatest achievement until Egan Bernal's consecration in the 2019 Tour.

"He is one of the most important cyclists, if not the most important we have had in Colombia," Bernal acknowledged at the time. "I would say thank you for that example you gave us, for allowing us to dream."

Scandals overshadowed the final phase of the career of the also called Condor of the Andes.

Disqualified

A Netflix documentary series revealed an internal war for the leadership of Movistar between him and the Spaniards Mikel Landa and Alejandro Valverde, amid tensions and strategic errors that cost them victories in 2019.

The production portrays him as an introverted person with difficulties communicating within the team.

The following year he went to the French squad Arkéa-Samsic. During the 2020 Tour, the French prosecutor's office raided the team's hotel as part of an investigation into possible doping against those around them.

In 2022, the organization of that competition disqualified him after finishing sixth overall for the use of tramadol, a banned painkiller, although at that time it was not considered a doping agent.

In the subsequent campaign he was without a team. He returned to the roads in 2024 but was never able to regain the level that made him famous.

"It was difficult to stay upright," he confessed to AFP after his return to Movistar.

© 2026 AFP

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.