The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the UCI's decision to disqualify Nairo Quintana from the 2022 Tour de France after he tested positive for the painkiller tramadol during the race.

The Colombian finished sixth overall, but this result was rescinded. However, the Tramadol case is only considered a violation of UCI medical rules and not an anti-doping rule violation, so he will not be banned for his first offense; WADA has decided to ban Tramadol starting in 2024.

Quintana appealed to CAS to overturn the UCI's decision and restore his racing record.

Quintana recently announced that he has terminated his contract with Arkea Samsic and has yet to reveal his team for 2023.

According to a CAS statement released Thursday, "After deliberations, the (CAS) panel determined that the UCI's ban on Tramador from competition was for medical reasons, not for doping, and was therefore within the authority and jurisdiction of the UCI."

The painkiller is not classified as a performance enhancing drug, but is banned by the UCI beginning March 2019. Athletes who test positive for blood droplets during a race will be disqualified, and a second violation will result in a five-month ban; WADA recently announced that tramadol will be a banned substance beginning in 2024.

In a statement, CAS said it was "comfortably satisfied" that tramadol was found in Quintana's Tour de France sample; the CAS decision is final and cannot be appealed. The full verdict will be announced shortly.

Quintana has categorically denied any wrongdoing throughout the proceedings, but his hopes of being vindicated have now been dashed, in a major blow to the most famous climber in modern cycling and one of South America's most popular athletes ...

The news that Quintana would be disqualified from the Tour de France came during the final countdown to the Vuelta a España.

Quintana announced his non-participation the day before the start of the Vuelta, and Quintana and the French team parted ways. The Colombian was to continue racing with Arkea-Samsic, which he joined in 2020.

Meanwhile, a CAS hearing was set for early October, and Quintana's subsequent transfer claim that he could race for Astana Cazacustan or AG2R Citroen next January was quashed by the team itself. Quintana represented Colombia at the world championships, finishing 66th in his only competition since the Tour. His future remains uncertain.

Quintana finished sixth in the Tour, the best result in the history of his Arkea-Samsic team. He finished 15th in La Planche des Belle Filles and 2nd in the Col de Granon.

The substance, an opiate painkiller, became a hot topic in the mid-2010s, and the Movement for Reliable Cycling (MPCC) called for a ban on the drug until 2013, following reports of its widespread use in the peloton.

"In addition to the risk of dependence and addiction, commonly reported side effects of tramadol are dizziness, drowsiness, and decreased alertness, which are incompatible with competitive cycling and endanger other competitors," according to the UCI medical rule book.

A statement by the UCI following the announcement of the decision "welcomed today's ruling" and asserted that it "reinforces the effectiveness of the tramadol ban in the UCI Medical Rules to protect the health and safety of riders."