Quintana marks himself out as Tour de France favourite
If Alberto Contador and Chris Froome were on another planet at the Vuelta a Andalucia last month, then in what galaxy does one place Nairo Quintana after this Tirreno-Adriatico? The Colombian’s clinical disposal of Contador atop a snowy Monte Terminillo was a cold reminder that the Tour de France will not be a two-man battle. Indeed, given the mountainous parcours, Quintana is the perhaps the outstanding favourite for top honours in July.
Calculations of Froome’s power output at the Ruta del Sol raised eyebrows, but considering the difficulty of the route and the calibre of his opponents, Quintana’s display on Monte Terminillo was, on sight at least, the most impressive by a Tour contender so far this year. One acceleration was all it took for Quintana to ease clear of Contador et al with four kilometres remaining, and he scarcely relented all the way to the summit as he pulled away to win by almost a minute.
Quintana’s lone sign of weakness came in the final time trial, where he conceded almost a half a minute to Contador and Vincenzo Nibali in just ten kilometres, but given the paucity of time trialling miles on this year’s Tour route, it hardly seems the most pressing concern at this juncture.
At the Tour de San Luis in January, Quintana estimated that he was only at 50 percent of his condition. The man from Boyaca didn’t provide any exact updates on that figure in Italy, but one imagines he still reckons there is still room for improvement come July. A sobering thought. (BR)
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Fantastic four showdown fizzles out
While Tirreno-Adriatico produced some high-quality racing and a worthy winner in Nairo Quintana, the highly anticipated battle between the fantastic four of Grand Tour contenders never materialised, leaving a veil of disappointment hanging over the fiftieth edition of the race.
Tirreno-Adriatico was expected to be the only time the big four would go head-to-head before the Tour de France, leaving ASO struggling to hide their envy. Only Quintana appeared to be on true Grand Tour form and deservedly earned the crown of current Tour favourite. Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome were left facing questions about their training and spring preparation.
Froome opted not to start Tirreno-Adriatico because of a last minute illness, Nibali was nowhere near his Tour de France winning level and reportedly two kilogrammes above his race weight and at 9 per cent body fat instead of 6 per cent. He has confirmed he will ride Milan-San Remo before a much-needed block of training at altitude and the Ardennes Classics. Contador had a bad race right from the opening time trial and was unable to go after Quintana on the steady slopes of Terminillo. He was even unable to drop riders fighting for a top ten place. Tinkoff-Saxo team manager Bjarne Riis refused to reveal to Cyclingnews what was wrong but both Contador and Froome will need to show signs of progression at the Volta a Catalunya next week if they are to stop the questions.
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