On the eve of the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, Colombian climbing ace Nairo Quintana made some serious allegations regarding unauthorized abuse of his image for commercial gains.
"While I pedal to [conquer] the world, these people steal and cheat my image. I ask for respect," Quintana said according to Italian sports paper Gazzetta dello Sport.
Nairo Quintana launched his accusations via Twitter, attaching photos of gadgets and merchandising where the name, face and initials of the team, Movistar, had been reproduced illegally. So far, though, neither Quintana nor Movistar has taken legal actions against the alleged perpetrators.
The 25 year-old Colombian is in Argentina to participate in the Tour de San Luis, a race that he won in 2014 and in which he finished third last year. The race is a traditional event for Quintana whose main objective for 2016 is to improve on last year’s runner-up spot at the Tour de France.
The Tour de San Luis kicks off Monday with a 21 km team time trial.
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