These will be Nairo Quintana's next races before facing the Tour de France

After the problems in his knees that prevented him from appearing last year, Nairo Quintana started 2022 with great physical condition, which, in turn, has been accompanied by several triumphs. The Colombian cyclist won the titles of the general classification, first, in the Tour de la Provence, and then in the Alpes-Maritimes Tour.

Later, in March, he participated in Paris-Nice, one of the most important week-long races on the calendar, where he finished fifth. And, finally, he traveled to Spain to perform in the Vuelta a Catalunya, leading one of the stages and finishing fourth overall. The title, let's remember, went to fellow Colombian Sergio Higuita, who won his first victory in the World Tour.

With the end of the first quarter of the season, Nairo already has its next competitions ready, which will serve as preparation for this year's big goal: the Tour de France. First, it will say 'present' at the 57th edition of the Tour of Turkey, which will take place from April 10 to 17. Never could a Colombian get on the podium in this race.

A couple of weeks later, the 'capo de filas' of Arkéa Samsic will return to action on April 29 for the celebration of the Vuelta a Asturias, in its 65th edition. The competition, in Spanish territory, will run until May 1. Let's remember that Quintana is the current champion, since last year he won the first stage and, in addition, won the title of the general classification.

This year's Tour de France will begin in Copenhagen (Denmark) on July 1, and will end in Paris on the 24th of the same month. Several figures from the international squad have already been confirmed, such as Slovenians Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar Team), and Colombians Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-EasyPost) and Daniel Felipe Martínez (INEOS Grenadiers).

The cyclist from Zipaquirá continues to surprise with the advances in his rehabilitation. Just over two months after his serious accident on roads in Cundinamarca, the INEOS Grenadiers racer is already riding his road bike with family and friends. The comments have not been long in coming from his followers who applaud him and wish him well in his return to the exercise.

This Saturday, in the middle of a press conference in Bogotá, the 25-year-old Colombian confessed that he still doesn't have a clear deadline for his return to the high-performance competition: “I don't have a return date, it would be irresponsible to give a date... putting myself in a certain way is unnecessary, because my team, my friends and my family, everyone is going to have patience with me and if I compete again this year it will be fine, but if it's the next year too, nothing happens,” said Egan.

“I'm going to do everything I can as far as the body leaves me, obviously following the instructions of doctors and experts and also listening to my body... I practically feel sicker than when I'm on the bike,” Bernal added.

In a recent interview with the portal Ouest France, Nairo Quintana also spoke about the recovery of his compatriot and said that the possibility of seeing him running this year is not unreasonable: “It's incredible because he had more than 20 broken bones and after two months he went back to cycling on the road. This is crazy. If he does that right now, he will be competing at the end of the season.”

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