7/16/14 9:41 AM

Why isn't the young rider that came in 2nd last year in The Tour, not riding this year. Was his team not invited or something else?

7/16/14 12:04 PM

Nairo Quintana won the Giro last month. He's only 24, and I heard the team(which is in the Tour) decided he wasn't ready to contest two grand tours in a row. They picked the Giro because it was especially mountainous this year, and he's a climbing specialist. Not wanting to burn him out, they didn't send him to the Tour. He will be heard from again.

7/17/14 12:49 AM

From what I've read, he'll be riding the Vuelta. I don't think he was ever intending to ride the TDF this year: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/no-tour-de-france-for-quintana-in-2014

7/17/14 5:22 AM

...that there is a difference between what he was thinking and what the team management decided. That said, it has worked out well for him so far and I wouldn't bet against him in the Vuelta. There's a reasonable possibility that he could win two Grand Tours this year, which would be amazing at his age.

7/17/14 5:59 AM

I wonder if Froome and Contadore are going to show up at the Vuelta too. Froome's tweet after Contadoore's accident at the TdF seemed to imply he was planning on it

The thinking behind Quintana's absence from the Tour was to avoid a direct competition between him and Froome as Froome was judged the best of the best this year and the Giro win was obtainable where the TdF wasn't. He will be back, you can be sure.