Quintana clinches Tour du Var victory with final stage solo attack

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Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) took his second stage race victory of the month after overturning the Tour du Var general classification on a mountainous final day in Blausasc.

The Colombian was level on time with stage 2 winner Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) heading into Sunday's final stage but put on a thrilling display up and down the Col de Saint Roch to win the race for the second time in three seasons.

Quintana had earlier jumped on a move by Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) on the descent on the major climb of the day after being launched by teammate Nicolas Edet for an attack on the way. On the long way down, he left the Frenchman behind to go solo for the stage and overall victory.

Wellens, chasing behind, linked up with a group of climbers – including Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), and Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) – fighting further back, with Pinot also dropping back for the final 10 kilometres of the stage.

Up front, though, Quintana was long gone, having pulled out over a minute on Wellens and the chase group. The 32-year-old crossed the line 1:21 ahead of the next best finisher, sealing overall victory with a stunning performance.

Martin chased in for second behind Quintana, but did not gain enough time to move ahead of Wellens in the general classification. Pinot sprinted against Vuillermoz with Wellens on their wheels in fifth but the Lotto Soudal man held onto second overall as the group rolled in 1:30 behind Quintana.

How it unfolded

With race leader Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) and Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) tied on time in the lead, the only chance for the Colombian to overtake his rival would be on the second category Col de Saint Roch with 43.5 kilometres to go. He had to go on the attack.

The stage from Villefranch-sur-Mer to Blausasc was just 113 kilometres long and started up the Col d'Eze, where eight riders tried to stretch their lead. Most prominently it was Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Amanuel Ghebreigzabheir (Trek-Segafredo) pushing the pace by Lotto Soudal shut down their gap before the summit.

Pinot continued on with his attacking ways on the descent, pulling Jonas Rutsch (EF EasyPost) and Emmanuel Morin (Nantes U Atlantique) away but again, they were reeled in.

Martin Tusveld (Team DSM) was next to attack but that didn't work, and Francois Bidard (Cofidis) led the peloton across the intermediate sprint after 43 frantic kilometres. A big group split off the fron, gaining half a minute as they headed up the Côte de Berre.

Pinot was part of an attack that left the peloton to join the leaders as some riders dropped back, and when the dust settled, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ) led over the top with Roger Adria (Kern Pharma), Pinot and Mikael Chérel (AG2R Citroën) following.

The whittled down leading group included: François Bidard (Cofidis), Pinot, Storer, Chérel, Anthony Turgis and Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies), Asbjorn Hellemose (Trek-Segafredo), Romain Combaud and Mark Donovan (Team DSM), Nicolas Edet and Lukasz Owsian (Arkéa-Samsic), Roger Adria (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Maxime Jarnet (Go Sport-Roubaix Lille Métropole) in the lead.

Pinot and Storer took turns upping the pace and soon were alone with Vuillermoz but the peloton was not far behind. Soon, Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) sensed an opportunity to bridge across and attacked, drawing out Quintana, who was led out by teammate Nicolas Edet to catch Martin.

The Wellens group was just ten riders or so as Quintana picked up Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies), then formed a group with Martin and Storer, too.

Pinot led over the Col de Saint Roch, with Quintana and Martin behind and closing. Quintana joined Pinot on the descent, with Martin, Storer and Vuillermoz behing chased by Wellens.

Wellens scrambled across to that group but ahead, Quintana distanced Pinot on the descent and opened up a huge gap.

Wellens was seeing the overall victory disappear up the road as Martin chased alone at 1:20 with 4km to go, and the Belgian was getting no help from his companions. Quintana, meanwhile, was on a tear and powered to the stage and the overall victory.