Cycling-Colombian Quintana vows to stay in the saddle

Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana, winner of Vuelta a Espana and Giro D'Italia, gestures on the day of a news conference announcing he is currently looking for a team, after being disqualified from the 2022 Tour de France due to use of a banned substance, in Bogota, Colombia January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian Nairo Quintana on Wednesday ruled out retiring from cycling despite not currently having a team, insisting he is still capable of competing at the highest level.

Quintana, who won the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2016, said he would keep riding even though he was disqualified from last year's Tour de France by the sport's governing UCI after he tested positive for the banned opiate painkiller Tramadol.