Quintana avoids a showdown with Contador at the Route du Sud

Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was unable to stay with Tour de France rival Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) on the descent on the Port de Balès and so missed out on a possible stage victory and overall success at the Route du Sud, giving his rival a first psychological victory in the build-up to the Tour de France. However the Colombian climber insisted he was satisfied with his form and his performances after spending a six weeks away from racing, training at home in Colombia.

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.