20 March 2022

Nairo Quintana: "I enjoy the Tour of Catalonia”

Nairo Quintana, who won the Tour of Catalonia in 2016, intends to achieve a good overall classification in this UCI WorldTour event that starts tomorrow in Sant Feliu de Guìxols.

 

 

Photo Getty Images

On the line

 

“I feel very good after Paris-Nice. I have recovered well from the big efforts I made in this race. Then I started training again for the Tour of Catalunya, a race that brings back good memories and that I appreciate a lot. This year there are two mountain stages with long passes which is very interesting for us. These two days with a summit finish will be important for us. We will have to be good, to work well as a team at these moments. The goal is to make a good overall classification in order to continue to collect UCI points, and for the Arkéa-Samsic team to continue to be at the top of the classification with a view to the World-Tour“.

Anthony Delaplace

“It’s always a pleasure to line up at the start of this UCI World-Tour event with a lot of mountain stages on the programme. It is always a demanding week of racing and the weather is not going to be kind with a lot of rain. I feel in good condition at the moment, since the Strade Bianche, I am in good shape again. The goal will be to aim for a good general classification with Nairo, and better if possible, and my job will be to accompany him as long as possible on the most difficult stages, at the foot of the last pass and to put him back in the final of the other stages so that he doesn’t break away. Help him to achieve the best possible overall classification in this race, which is a goal for him and the Arkéa-Samsic team”.

Yvon Ledanois, Sport-Director

The briefing

“The Tour of Catalonia is the second big objective of the season for Nairo and it has the advantage of not having a time trial. There are also two stages that finish at the top of La Molina and Boì Taüll and the six final climbs of the Castel de Montjuich on the last day, which can bring surprises and a nice movement race in the streets of Barcelona. The competition will be tough like on the roads of Paris-Nice, we know that, but we come to this UCI World-Tour event with ambitions, including for the stages that can end in a sprint with Hugo Hofstetter”.

Riders

Anthony Delaplace
Elie Gesbert
Łukasz Owsian