CAMINITO DEL REY, Spain (VN) — Nairo Quintana’s Vuelta a España is not a grand tour vendetta after losing to Chris Froome (Sky) at the Tour de France, though it is a big opportunity to add to his grand tour palmares against some of the top names in cycling, a list that invariably includes Chris Froome.
The Movistar captain finished second overall to Froome and won the white young rider’s jersey this July, achieving both feats for the second time in his career. Now, one month later, Quintana has a chance to win the Vuelta a España and add to his 2014 Giro d’Italia win.
“It’s not a vendetta, it’s another opportunity to win a race against all the best in the world,” Team Manager Eusebio Unzué told VeloNews.
“The second overall in the Tour de France was a second with many positive aspects. He consolidated his place with the big grand tour riders, as a great climber, as a possible Tour winner. There are many positive aspects from the Tour.”
Quintana lost time in the echelons on day two and on the first mountaintop finish at La Pierre-Saint-Martin, but rebounded in the third week and pushed Froome in the final mountain stages. He moved within 1:12 of Froome’s lead on the Alpe d’Huez before the race finished the next day in Paris.
Teammate Alejandro Valverde placed third and other big names — Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) — were further down the overall classification. Even without the win, the team left France satisfied.
Unzué, with his star preparing inside Movistar’s blue bus ahead of stage two, explained that he wanted Quintana on the Vuelta start line in southern Spain to try to add another title.
“Now, he has another occasion to win one of the few objectives that are left in the season for him,” Unzué said.
“We saw that there was a small difference on the climbs in the Tour. Here, though, we have a time trial of almost 40 kilometers [stage 17 in Burgos]. The advantage turns more in Froome’s favor.
“Nairo knows to win this Vuelta against Froome, he has to lose as little as possible in the time trial. The most he can lose is one minute and 30 seconds.”
The goal also will be to stay upright. Last year, Quintana crashed in the time trial and had to abandon the race before it reached Madrid.
If he stays close and avoids trouble, Quintana could then have his chance to win the Vuelta in one of the five high-summit finishes.
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