Jasper Philipsen won the 21st and final stage of the Tour de France disputed this Sunday with a route of 115 km between Paris La Défense Arena and Paris Champs-Elysées, of 115 kilometersetros, in which the DanishJonas Vingegaard, was crowned champion and Nairo Quintana finished in sixth place overall.
The final day was the victory walk, in which the great protagonist was the 25-year-old Jumbo Visma team runner, who won the first title of the competition and the second for his country, after Bjarne Riiswho won it in 1996.
(Jonas Vingegaard: the cyclist who washed fish and is going to win the Tour)
(Nairo Quintana: the millionaire sum that he will win for being sixth in the Tour)
Vingegaard left Slovenian Tadej Pogacar in second place, who was unable to defend the race title as he wanted, which he had won in 2020 and 2021, but this time he found himself with a much stronger rival.
In the third box was Geraint Thomas, the Ineos team runner, who won the title in 2018 and was second in 2018, behind his teammate, the Colombian, Egan Bernal.
Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Uran and Daniel Martinez They were the three Colombians who took part in this edition and the boyacense finished in sixth place.
These were the keys of Quintana for his good career.
Good preparation
Nairo Quintana himself went head-on. He pointed out that he has had a bad time in the last two editions of the Tour de France and after that experience, this time he dedicated himself to preparing him better.
There were two editions in which he did not respond, because he finished in box 17 and 28, in two races in which the best Nairo was not known.
The boyacense began his preparation with a lot of dedication. Already recovered from the health problems due to the operation on his knees and leaving the covid, the Arkea cyclist was finally able to carry out his work plan.
The wins at the Tour of the Maritime Alps and in the Tour de Provence, as well as his performances in Paris Nice (5) and in the Tour of Catalonia (4), clearly state that the preparation for the Tour was the best.
And that was rare with sixth place in the French competition. Nairo was once again among the best, after two bitter years. It is his sixth ‘top’ 10 on the Tour.
Very smart
His goal was the podium, perhaps a very high goal, but he was close to achieving it, at least on several days he was fourth overall.
Nairo Quintana ran intelligently, dosing forces and always knowing what he was aiming for. He clearly wasn’t going to fight the race with Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and with the best Primoz Roglicbut he did know who his rivals were, who he had to watch out for and that’s why he ran with that reference.
He defended himself in the best way in the time trials, in the pavé and in the days of the winds and since he knew his opponents by heart and was aware of their condition, the question was to manage them with reference to their true possibilities.
He didn’t overreach, he didn’t expend unnecessary energy, he was close to the cyclists with whom he was fighting to achieve his goals and he never went crazy looking for impossible goals.
excellent strategy
Since he knew what he was aiming for and followed the guidebook from the first stage in DenmarkNairo planned his moves.
Getting to the mountains near the best was his goal and in the Alps he brought out his best moments in this Tour.
The stage towards the Granon was key. He moved in the best way, he attacked according to his possibilities, he was getting important seconds, he escorted Vingegaard to the finish line and it was on that day that he got his best returns.
Then he dedicated himself to defending himself, saving energy for this Tour, playing a game of chess in which spending the minimum and trying to position himself well and endure contributed to the success of his result.
Experience
He has been in the elite for 10 years. Nairo Quintana is a cyclist who knows how to ride the Tour, the great three-week tests. He has been in the competition nine times, has not withdrawn and knows it perfectly.
He knows how to endure and suffer in difficult moments, he knows how to face them and, in the same way, that field that he has gives him enough authority to press the accelerator at the key moment.
Dosing forces, knowing what time his rivals are at, how to get the most out of the difficult moments of his opponents, placing himself well in the lot in each of the days and assimilating the crises was important for him to bring out his experience and get out tour figure.
almost alone
Although the team supported him as far as it could, it is no secret to anyone that he was only involved in the important stages, but there personal condition is more important than that of his teammates.
Quintana’s experience and wisdom were so important that he saw himself without gregarious members in the mountains and knew how to manage the times to move or remain still.
His rivals like Aleksandr Vlasov, Romain Bardet, and Louis Meintjes They ran the same way, no teammates were seen and that helped the Colombian, because he almost always lived face to face with them and came out with flying colors.
Nairo showed that he is capable of mastering difficult moments, suffering in difficult moments, overcoming them, dominating the environment and making decisions in search of the best result, in a sensational Tour for him.
(Nairo Quintana exploded: problems on the Tour and decision about his future)
(Piqué is bullied: the public whistles at him and yells at him, Shakira, Shakira! Video)
Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of THE TIME
@lisandroabel
#Nairo #Quintana #tremendous #Tour #France #keys #sixth #place #analysis