Although Nairo Quintana and his teammate Alejandro Valverde are almost two minutes behind Tour de France leader Chris Froome (Sky) coming into the first rest day, the Movistar riders still insist that the race is not yet lost. With nothing but hilly stages between Pau and Paris, the diminutive Colombian is hoping that the heat and the high mountains will give him the advantage he needs.
Quintana held Froome to just 16 seconds in the stage 1 time trial, but then missed the split in the crosswinds on stage 2 and gave up another 1:28. The team made it through the next crash-filled stages intact, although Quintana was banged up in the uphill crash on stage 4, and Quintana says everyone is still in good shape. "The team is still whole and performing really well, as everyone could see yesterday in the team time trial," Quintana said. "I think that Pyrenees, with Alejandro and all of them by my side, will be a good opportunity to turn things around in our favour."
The transition from flat road racing and a rest day into a high mountain finish is always a difficult one for the riders, and with stage 10 traversing 145 rolling kilometers before heading straight up the hors-categorie La Pierre-Saint-Martin ascent, Quintana expects an unpredictable day.
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“It's a fairly steady climb, really demanding and one where temperatures could play a role. They say it usually heats up more than others nearby," Quintana said. Normally a rider who copes with the heat better than most, the Colombian is unsure of how he will perform because the race has been on largely flat roads for the first nine stages.
The rider who lit up the 2013 Tour de France and climbed to the Giro d'Italia victory last year is the most naturally talented rider in the peloton when it comes to climbing, but he played down his chances for tomorrow's stage. "It's been 15 days since I climbed such a demanding mountain. There could be attacks from the foot of it, at the end or even not happening anything at all, but I like it, just like with all other long climbs."
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