Emmanuel Hubert, general manager of Arkea-Samsic, said the knee injury that forced him to abandon the Criterium du Dauphiné on the final stage has not affected him and that he is ready to take on the overall contenders in the Tour de France, which starts Saturday in Nice.

Quintana injured his knee in early July when he was hit by a car while training in Colombia, but his Arkea-Samsic team reported Monday that he has been able to train fully since last week at the pre-Tour de France camp at Izola 2000 in the French Alps.

This news is the first time that the team has been able to train fully since last week.

The news came as Alcare Samsic announced its lineup for the Tour. Quintana will join his brother Deyer and newcomers Winner Anacona and Diego Rosa on the eight-man team.

Warren Barguil, who finished 10th overall in 2017 and 2019, is also part of the Breton team, while Maxime Bouet, Tour debutant Clément Russo and 2018 British road race champion Conor Swift complete the roster.

"As for Nairo Quintana, we have no worries. 'He has just completed a high-altitude training camp at Izola 2000, where he was able to increase his kilometers without irritating the knee injury he sustained last July. Like Warren Barguil, he will be in excellent condition and motivated to start next Saturday in Nice."

Quintana has been on the podium three times at the Tour, finishing second in 2013 and 2015 and third in 2016, and has won the mountains prize in each of his last two appearances.The 30-year-old stud is clearly the team leader of Arkea-Samsic, having joined the team from Movistar After joining the team, he enjoyed early success, winning the Tour de la Provence, Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, and the final stage from Paris to Nice before the season was interrupted by the COVID-19 epidemic.

Quintana's training in Colombia during the suspension was interrupted by a training crash in early July, but he was back on the bike within a week and back in action at the Mont Ventoux-Denivelle Challenge earlier this month.

Quintana, who finished third overall in the Tour de l'Ain, had finished in the lead group each day in the Dauphiné, but retired on the final stage due to knee pain.

"The Arkea-Samsic team for the Tour de France is led by Nairo Quintana, who was dominant in the early season climber's races, winning six races. Nairo has just completed a high-altitude training camp with his teammates in Isola 2000 and will be in perfect shape for the start in Nice. His past pedigree in the Tour de France gives us legitimate ambition, but we also know that the competition will be fierce," said Yvon Ledenois, adding that Barguil will be given a certain amount of freedom within the Arcair-Samsic team.

"Warren Barguil will be more than supportive of him.

This sentiment was echoed by Hubert: "Warren will help Nairo to perform at his best on GC in the 2020 Tour de France. Nevertheless, Warren also has responsibilities and may take a personal role in certain stages if the race conditions allow."

Hubert also said that "Nairo will have a personal role in the Tour de France, and he will be responsible for the Tour de France.

Quintana was one of five Tour contenders to abandon the Dauphiné due to injury. Emmanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) were also victims of crashes, Kruijswijk crashed on the descent of the Plan Bois pass the same day and was forced to retire with what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder, and Primoz Roglic ( Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) also crashed on the final stage and was not able to compete on the final day.

Kruijswijk will miss the Tour with a broken shoulder, but Bernal, Roglic, and Buchmann will join Quintana at the start of the Tour in Nice on Saturday.

2020 Tour de France Arkea Samsic: Winner Anacona, Warren Barguil, Maxime Bouet, Nairo Quintana, Deyer Quintana, Diego Rosa, Clement Russo, Connor Swift

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