Nairo Quintana (Movistar) took his second WorldTour stage victory in less than a month when he put in a gutsy attack on the final 1km descent in the queen stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. With the stage taking in the historical Arrate finish, the victory had a special place in the heart of the young Colombian.

 

The hard finish in Eibar-Arrate was long the main attraction of the Euskal Bizikleta stage race and when that race folded prior to the 2009 season, the Vuelta al Pais Vasco decided to include the historic site as a permanent part of the route for the WorldTour stage race.

 

Since then Samuel Sanchez has dominated the stage by winning in 2010, 2011 and 2012, but today his streak was finally broken as Nairo Quintana soloed off a select group of favourites to take his second WorldTour victory after his stage win in last month's Volta a Catalunya.

 

The importance of the victory was greatly increased by the historical surroundings in which it took place.

 

"It's a very important win for me because this is one of the biggest races in the World Tour," Quintana said. "It's a massive joy for me and a huge boost of confidence for the future, because this climb has such a rich history, and the weather conditions all day, with cold and rain, make it really special."

 

Risky descent

Unable to make the difference on the uphill, Quintana attacked his rivals as soon as they hit the final 1km descent to the finish line. He soloed off the front and finished 2 seconds ahead of a select group of favourites led across the line by race leader Sergio Henao (Sky).

 

"The team worked perfectly all day long and I only had to put my best effort at the end. The rain took much energy out of us and none knew how their rivals were, hence the lack of attacks. I kept my mind cold in the Arrate climb to avoid any timing errors like yesterday, and only took risks into the downhill. I knew the finale, because we went into the recon and we saw that the final meters were the key for the result. I took chances there and it paid off."

 

The foundations for the victory were laid on the penultimate climb when the Movistar team went to the front to up the tempo. Javier Moreno and Jonathan Castroviejo took some amazing turns to tire out the legs of Quintana's rivals ahead of the big battle on the final climb.

 

The tiny Colombian was full of praise of the team effort.

 

"This victory is for all team members. The mechanics, the carers, the sports directors... all of them who fully commit to us, and also my team-mates, always helping out: bringing me some food, a rain jacket, protecting me for the weekend. It's real clockwork and it brings you results."

 

Confident ahead of time trial

Quintana remains in second overall, but has reduced his deficit to Henao to 6 seconds. He now faces two decisive stages before the race's conclusion on Saturday.

 

Tomorrow's stage is by many expected to be the hardest of the race. It is up and down all days, and along the way the peloton has to tackle some really steep climbs. With another rainy day forecasted, Samuel Sanchez expects an epic day comparable to the dramatic penultimate stage of this year's Tirreno-Adriatico.

 

Finally, Quintana will have to defend himself against the likes of Richie Porte (Sky) and Alberto Contador (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) in the final hilly time trial around Beasain. Many would expect Quintana to go on the attack to gain more time ahead of the race against the clock, but the Colombian remains confident in his own abilities.

 

"We still have two stages left; when we started the race, they seemed decisive, and it looks so now. We hope to stay as it is now tomorrow and give our best into the TT. I know the route and it suits me well, with some climbing too - I don't really do bad in the flat. It will be hard, because we will have to fight with the likes of Sergio, Contador and Porte, those that everyone is naming, but also with riders like Spilak, which have shown themselves strong this week."

 

Starting at 14.45, you can follow the penultimate stage tomorrow in CyclingQuotes.com/live.