Nairo Quintana took a giant leap towards winning the 2016 Vuelta a España after an epic stage yesterday. Just eight kilometres into the short (118km) fifteenth stage of the Spanish Grand Tour from Sabiñánigo to Formigal, the Movistar team managed to get a number of their riders into a decisive break.

The move resulted in Quintana taking 2nd behind Gianluca Brambilla on the stage to distance Chris Froome by almost four minutes overall and strengthen his chances of winning overall.

A 14-man split, with three from Movistar – Quintana, Jonathan Castroviejo and Rubén Fernandez – plus three from Tinkoff, including Alberto Contador, soon opened a gap which grew up to 1’30” at the foot of Petralba (Cat-3), the first real climb of the day.

Only the efforts from Orica-BikeExchange, BMC and most notably Astana, helped Froome out by reducing the leaders’ gap as their gap grew to almost three minutes at the bottom of Cotefablo (Cat-2).

Despite the efforts from the chasers, Castroviejo in particular helped the leaders maintain a gap coming onto the final climb. Quintana went on to finish 29” ahead of Contador, 1’49” ahead of Chaves and gain2’30” over Froome, as Gianluca Brambilla, the only rider able to follow his wheel in the end, took the stage. 3’37” is the margin Quintana has over Froome, heading into the last week of the Vuelta.

Nairo Quintana Stage 15 a Vuelta

Nairo Quintana: “It went way, way better than we expected. To be honest, we were thinking more about taking some moves in the finale. However, you never really know what’s gonna happen. It turned out to be a really great stage in the least of expected ways.”

“We opened bigger gaps here than in yesterday’s big mountains. At the start, a split was created into a lumpy section, full of twists and different slopes where our bodies suffered a lot after yesterday’s efforts. We struggled, yet we kept focus, went ahead with Alberto and our teams cooperated well.”

“My team helped me out so much: a huge labour from Jonathan Castroviejo and Rubén Fernández -I was screaming to them: ‘Full gas, full gas, we’re leaving Froome behind’- and then, the rest of the team, taking care of what was going on behind.”

“We opened a gap, we kept it high and at the final climb, I gave everything to keep Chris well behind. Fortunately, I’ve opened the gap I considered I needed before the TT; I just hope I can keep it and stay strong until Madrid. We will remain cautious, yet we know we’ve got a great team: Alejandro, Castro… all of us are confident.”

Photo: Movistar Team
Photo: Movistar Team

Alejandro Valverde: “I really didn’t enjoy today’s racing much, I struggled as badly as yesterday, though a bit closer to the front (all laughing and joking). It was a different way of suffering. We knew that such a short, tough course could create havoc. We took a big lead in the overall standings now – even though you can’t say this is already won, as many difficult days are still ahead, we’re many steps closer to our goal.

“It was a split created by both Alberto and us, a joint strategy which both teams took advantage from to create some gaps. Behind, and especially into the final ascent, I was always keeping Froome’s wheel, trying to make him nervous.”

“And, as soon as he stopped taking turns, I jumped so he never recovered. What do I want to do now? Winning the red jersey with Nairo. Fighting for stages might be impossible for me, as you never want to cooperate with someone who is faster at a sprint, and at this point of the race, what really motivates me is staying close to Nairo.”

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