"It's been a fantastic day. I especially have to thank my team because they were extraordinary today, especially Michele Scarponi and Tanel Kangert toward the finish, and Jakob Fuglsang was a great help to me.
"At high altitude I was confident that I could breath and ride better than anyone. I was not afraid of losing and I was not afraid of winning."
"I'm tired but this is the life, it is only a bike race. I tried and did the best I could. The team did the best they could. I'm here. I'm happy. I did my best. I tried and this is just the beginning for me.
"I'm OK [health-wise]. I don't have excuses. I didn't have the legs and that is normal. You need strength to do this. It was one race of 80 hours and 3,000km, and there are no excuses. The only simple answer is that I had no legs.
"It is the beginning for me and for sure other opportunities will come."
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"I don't know if it's my best win, I also won a stage in the Vuelta, but a dream comes true when you win a stage in the Giro. It was my personal target. When [Ilnur] Zakarin crashed yesterday, I was really scared for him. It happened at 70-80kph. I was really scared he'd lose his life. I turned around to see, and when I saw that he sat up I realized he survived. It was really hard morale-wise to continue the race.
"This morning I didn't feel very good, I caught the breakaway very late at the top of the climb, and it was really difficult. Once we crossed 2,000 metres, it suited me - yesterday was the same. I've stayed here for training camp three times, and I knew if I survived in the front when we got to 2,000 metres nobody could beat me. I know the reason - I stayed six weeks in altitude training camp - I could get a Colombian passport, maybe."
Matt White (Orica-GreenEdge director):
"Esteban gave everything he could. Nibali's had a very strong two days. We're still very proud of Esteban. He did what he could, and that's all we can ask from him and the team. [Rigoberto] Uran? They're countrymen. You can see Esteban finished with nothing today. They happened to meet on the climb, and it was good try to get closer to Nibali, but he just wasn't good enough today. It's a great experience.
"We've come fifth in the Vuelta, and six months later we're second in the Giro to one of the best stage race riders of the last 10 years. Nibali's won the Tour de France, the Giro and the Vuelta, and he's one of the best stage race riders in the world. To finish second to him is certainly no disgrace."
