Nairo Quintana is only 25, with one Grand Tour title to his name, but he is already dreaming of elevating himself to the realm of the greats of the sport.
The Movistar rider, who won the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and has twice finished second at the Tour de France, has stated his intentions to go for a Grand Tour double in the near future. Only nine riders in history have won two three-week races in the same year, the last being Alberto Contador in 2008 with the Giro-Vuelta – but the Spaniard was proof of the scale of the task this year as he came up short in his Giro-Tour bid.
"I know that it's not easy, but it's possible," said Quintana in an interview with Colombian newspaper El Espectador. "It's difficult and few have done it, but it's a big challenge for the future and I'm going to give it a go. Why not dream of winning two Grand Tours?
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"If I fall short, it's news and they're going to say, 'Nairo Quintana couldn't win the two Grand Tours', but there will have been something to talk about. At the very least I'm going to try – there's not the slightest bit of doubt about that."
It is not clear which two Grand Tours Quintana will target, or when he will take on the challenge. He will ride both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana next year, as he did this year, but 2016 will be characterised by a different sort of double. The Tour is the primary objective but Quintana is equally motivated to achieve Olympic glory shortly after Paris, on a course that looks tough and selective.
"From now I am committed to going to Rio to win the gold medal," said the Colombian, who was recently selected as one of Team Visa's 30 supported riders for the Games.
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