Nairo Quintana defends himself with everything. He knows that the forces at this stage of the Tour de France and when there are four days to go are not the same and he pedals with his heart to continue in search of finishing in the ‘Top’ five, without giving up the illusion of being third .
Yesterday’s day was tough, not only because of the strong pace of competition imposed by the team UAE Emirates with Brandon McNulty and their leader Tadej Pogacar, looking to embarrass the yellow jersey of the race, Jonas Vigeggaard, who came out unscathed after the Slovenian’s triumph, but because the forces are scarce.
(Nairo Quintana does not hide and announces battle until the end)
(Nairo Quintana does not lose the war, he is fourth and fights for the podium of the Tour)
The stage, disputed betweenand Saint Gaudens and Peyragudes, short, only 129 kilometers, left the Tour almost sentenced, with an immense Vingegaard, a minimized Pogacar and that keeps the partial victories and the second place in the general and a Geraint Thomas that sticks to that third drawer.
They are ‘comfortable’ in their places, but the battle for the next three positions continues, is alive and will only be defined on Saturday in the 40 km time trial.
The keys from now on
Nairo gave up time, well they all did it against the top two machines, Vingegaard and Pogacar, but the boyacense has the options of keeping the fourth box and, why not, moving up to the third, because Thursday’s day is very hard and anyone can pay an effort, even himself.
Quintana was 7 min 53 s from first place, with Pogacar losing 5 min 35 s, with Thomas loses 2 min 57 s and it only remains for the Briton to be founded this Thursday to take his time and aspire to something in the time trial, something that does not seem so viable.
From there to the back is the hot topic. Nairo Quintana has David Gaudu just four seconds behind, as the Frenchman took five from him at yesterday’s arrival. Then comes Romain Bardet, who recovered, and re-entered the fight, whom he has at 1 min 28 s, good time, if Quintana responds today. That is the fight he must give.
There is no doubt that today’s fraction will be key, in an elimination race and in such a difficult stage between Lourdes and Hautacamlast arrival at the top of the test, with three strong ascents that will disrupt the lot, nobody can claim victory.
The day will pass through the Aubisque, then you will climb the Spandelles, a 10.3 km ascent at 8.3 percent average incline of ramps and finish in hautacamwith 13.6 kilometers at an average gradient of 7.8 percent, where air is scarce.
The forces are very tight, almost non-existent. The truth is that no one has more than the other, when it comes to the battle between Nairo, Gaudu and Bardet for fourth place. The one who does not have the strength will give in and lose his position. The issue is knowing who he will be and how long he will leave on the asphalt with a view to Saturday’s time trial.
At this stage of the Tour, the story, the statistics or the name of the cyclist does not count, the key is how to spend the least amount of energy that you have and of the three none has an advantage, nobody is more than anyone else and The only thing left for the Colombian is not to faint.
There is no need to create a drama for what has happened. Nairo said that he had made a mistake, that he tried to keep up with the strongest in the race and paid for it, although he is still fourth.
Your goal, the podium
We already said that his goal of the podium was difficult and that can be seen, it has been confirmed, because there are better than him. That does not mean that the Tour he is doing is bad, on the contrary, it is excellent, after two years in which he saw himself in worse positions.
He has rediscovered his good feelings. Five years ago I did not have the option to fight for a place in the top five of a three-week competition, when in 2017 he finished second overall in the Giro d’Italia, which Tom Dumoulin beat him.
Nairo must do his job on the Tour, minimize losses, find the balance point that tells you what to spend. Go at a pace, hold on and, at the very least, not let the two Frenchmen approach him to arrive with a chance of finishing in the top five on the Champs-Elysées.
Attacking is not the best weapon, you will surely die trying. Defending fourth place should be the watchword and you should forget about the podium, because the only thing that can excite him is that the victim of the day is Thomas, otherwise, he is condemned to keep that privileged position.
(Fabio Jakobsen and his drama, vanished at the finish line of the Tour, video)
(Tour de France 2022: this is how the classifications go, after stage 17)
Statements by Nairo Quintana upon arrival after stage 17 of the Tour de France. He maintains his podium hopes considering the toughness of tomorrow’s stage. pic.twitter.com/jEi0av0lC4
— big turns (@bigturns) July 20, 2022
Lisandro Rengifo
Editor of THE TIME
@lisandroabel
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