Nairo Quintana (Movistar) has emerged as the revelation of the 2013 Tour de France(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Nairo Quintana (Movistar) took a much deserved polka dot jersey(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Nairo Quintana's agent has confirmed to Cyclingnews that the Colombian rider will stay with Movistar for 2014 despite reported interest from Astana and other teams after his impressive performance at the Tour de France.
Giuseppe Acquadro confirmed that Quintana is happy with the Spanish team and will almost certainly be joined by his younger brother Dayer, who has been riding with an Under 23 team in Spain this year.
The Movistar mobile communications company is widely expected to confirm it will sponsor Eusebio Unzue's team for a further three years with a possible increase in the team's budget.
Quintana is expected to secure a significant pay increase despite being under contract, after finishing second overall at the Tour de France. His salary could touch two million Euro, close to that of current Movistar team leader Alejandro Valverde.
To fund Quintana's new salary, Movistar is expected to let Rui Costa leave the team despite his two stage victories at the Tour de France and his second consecutive overall success at the Tour de Suisse. Costa could earn up to 1.5 million Euro a season by changing teams thanks to ability to win week-long stage races and perhaps develop into a Grand Tour contender.
Costa said he would decide his future after the Tour de France. However there is still no official announcement about his future.
Giro d'Italia stage winner Beñat Intxausti has confirmed via Twitter that he will stay with Movistar for 2014 and 2015 after signing a new contract. He will spearhead the Movistar team for the Vuelta a España with Valverde and Italian rider Eros Capecchi.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
