Nairo Quintana 9th at the summit of Superga
Nairo Quintana signs a top 9 on the summit of Superga, he arrives in a group that finishes only thirteen seconds behind the podium.
Photo GettyImages
Kévin Voisard
“I gave the maximum, the best for Nairo. There was this break, and we didn’t need much to make the junction before the first climb of Superga. We tried to limit the damage. I gave it my all. I was far in the effort when you weigh 56 kilos and you have to ride at more than sixty on the flat it is not obvious. It was an effort of about an hour, I try to improve in this field too, because you have to be versatile. I know in any case that it will be beneficial for me because it makes me take some weight. I would like to thank all the Arkéa-Samsic team, staff and riders for the great moments and rich experiences I had during this week and in the other races I took part in”.
On the line
“When we passed a roundabout, we were a little bit far away and there was a break with a group of 25 to 30 riders that broke away at the front of the race. We could have thought that it was compromised for the team but finally my team-mates, helped by other teams in the same situation as us, rode hard at the front of the peloton to maintain the gap and then to reduce it as much as possible at the foot of the first climb of Superga. I want to thank them for the work they have done. I paid for these efforts in the final part when Roglic and Yates attacked, but I managed to maintain my rhythm and I signed a top 10 on the summit of Superga with some of the best riders of the peloton. The good thing is that I am getting better and better, the condition is good and I am getting closer and closer to the best riders with each race. I want to finish this 2021 season on a good note and look forward to 2022 with Arkéa-Samsic, a year that I hope will be a good one for us. But in the meantime, we need to finish this one on a good note to launch the next one. I knew that on the first climb Yates was going to make an explosive first ascent, so I preferred to climb more progressively in order to keep my strength for the second ascent of Superga and the following lap”.
The debrief
“We could have done without the chase that we led behind the group of breakaway riders that formed before the first climb of Superga, it would have been better, but I would like to underline the work of the team, the cohesion of the whole team in front of this situation. Our riders were able to react perfectly, without panicking as I had asked them to do. It is by showing unity in such moments that we can get out of this situation, the proof. Even if we had to stop for ten seconds, Nairo did it straight away. On the final climb, he doesn’t have much to say against Yates and Roglic, even Pogacar can’t compete. Now we have the Gran Piemonte and the Lombardy tomorrow and we will try to get a top 10, but why not get closer to the first places?”