Nairo Quintana has elected not to ride in the Vuelta a Espana, with his decision coming a day before the start of the season's final Grand Tour gets under way in the Netherlands.

On Wednesday, Quintana was retrospectively disqualified from this year's Tour de France for an in-competition drug infringement.

The Colombian finished sixth in the General Classification, his first top-10 Grand Tour finish since the 2019 Vuelta and his best performance in the Tour de France since 2016.

However, the UCI announced that two samples of Quintana's blood showed traces of tramadol, a banned substance.

The 32-year-old was given 10 days to appeal the ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), though he has not been banned from competition as it is a first offence.

On Thursday, the Colombian confirmed he would not be riding in the Vuelta, despite initially stating he would be doing so.

In a widely reported statement, Arkea-Samsic rider Quintana said: "I communicate that I will not participate in the Vuelta to assert my reasons before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I will return to the calendar races at the end of the season."

Quintana had responded to the allegations via his social media channels, stating: "I have been surprised by the announcement of the UCI of an infraction for use of tramadol.

"I am completely unaware of the use of this substance and I deny having used it in my career.

"With my team of lawyers we are exhausting all the processes to assume my defence.

"I also want to ratify that I will be in the Vuelta a Espana, riding my best for the team, my country and my fans."

Nairo Quintana has been disqualified from the 2022 Tour de France for an in-competiton drug infringement.

The Colombian finished sixth in this year's competition, which was won by Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard.

However, the UCI announced on Wednesday that two samples of Quintana's blood showed traces of tramadol, a banned substance.

The 32-year-old has 10 days to appeal the ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), though he has not been banned from competition as it is a first offence.

Quintana's sixth place in the General Classification was his first top-10 Grand Tour finish since the 2019 Vuelta a Espana, and his best performance in the Tour de France since 2016.

The Arkea-Samsic team announced that Quintana had signed a contract extension until 2025 on Tuesday, though he was not named in their squad for this year's Vuelta a Espana, which starts on Friday.

The team released a statement on Wednesday saying: "The Arkea-Samsic team took note of the notification from the UCI and received by Nairo Quintana informing him of the presence of tramadol in two samples of dried blood collected during the last Tour de France.

"Since March 1, 2019, the UCI medical regulations have provided for the banning of tramadol in competition for medical reasons.

"Furthermore, this violation of the UCI medical regulations does not lead to a suspension for the rider.

"The Arkea-Samsic team will not provide any further comment."