Pain is temporary, giving up is forever.
Lance Armstrong
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I have left La Seu d'Urgell behind and dawn surprises me crossing the border of Andorra.
The day dawns dark, it is finally cool and a handful of cyclists overcome the line of cars, languid in their progress. The cyclists wear long tights, gloves and scarves around their necks, I assume they are getting cold because it's time, but they don't even stop for that reason.
More cyclists arrive. They pass us and I see them go away. They go up, they wind along the road that takes me to Andorra la Vella.
Andorra is a gorge, Andorra is cycling territory, that is what its Government promotes.
(...)
I met with Nairo Quintana (33) at Criterium Cafè Cycling, the sanctuary of cycling in Andorra run by Miquel Rossell and Jordi Gallardo.
(A blackboard hangs on one wall of the sanctuary; dozens of cyclists have signed it, starting with Purito Rodríguez and continuing with Sepp Kuss, Enric Mas, Juan Ayuso, Robert Gesink, Jack Haig and Tom Pidcock. All of them live and pedal in the cycling territory).
Nairo Quintana comes to the appointment by bicycle. He wears the tights and jersey of his clothing company, Nairo, organizes two cycle tours (in Mexico and Colombia) and also wants to talk about his coffee business, Café 9 · 30. Nairo Quintana is not only a professional cyclist looking for a team, he is a businessman.
Nairo Quintana settled in Andorra two years ago. He came from Colombia, inspired by those cyclists like him. He arrived with his wife and his two children (10 and 5 years old) and went up the mountain, pedaling with Carlos Verona and Víctor de la Parte.
–What brought you to Andorra?
–It is the ideal place for cyclist training. It has all the terrain in one. And it has the added bonus of being able to climb while at home. And the little traffic on the roads.
(In summer, the Government gives cyclists the port of Arcalís: car traffic is restricted).
–And do you train like a professional?
–Every day I pedal for three and a half hours, as if I were in a competition.
Well, right now, Nairo Quintana, overall champion of a Giro (2014) and a Vuelta (2016), and podium finisher in three Tours, is without a team.
The reason?
After the 2022 Tour, traces of Tramadol had appeared in his system. He was disqualified from the race (he had finished sixth overall) and from his team, Arkea. Tramadol, a painkiller, is not doping, but its use violates medical regulations, so Quintana is semi-punished: he is not serving a sentence, but no team hires him.
–And that hurts me, because I can still give a lot. “I am prepared to finish my sports career well,” she tells me.
–Despite not competing?
–I have my own knowledge. I know what I should do to stay in shape. I have been training for more than ten years, sometimes I meet colleagues and cycling groups who pedal alongside me. And I am happy with it. Cycling is my life and my passion, and if I don't practice it, I miss it.
(And he looks fine: sharp face and shoulders, ham-like quads).
–And how did you discover cycling? Did it come from family?
-Noooo. There were never any athletes in my family. My father is a merchant and farmer. He cultivated the field. My department has been a pioneer in cycling (Boyacá). The Vuelta a Colombia was passing in front of my house. The platoon arrived and I felt the passion. I started going to school by bicycle: 16 km of descent that I then had to climb back up. There was a group of kids who came to the town where I was studying, I started to confront them and I saw that I had capabilities. One day I picked one up and very shortly after, on a climb, I arrived ahead of everyone, being the smallest.
–Was your bike good?
-Not at all! When I was fifteen, my dad took me to a club, but the results were not so good because he had a basic bike with basic shoes. Cycling is expensive, it is not the same as buying a ball, and even more so if you do not know if the kid will dedicate himself or not.
