Route d'Occitanie (Stage 2) : Nairo Quintana 14th
Nairo Quintana took 14th place in the 2nd stage of the Route d’Occitanie, which was shortened due to the weather conditions.
Photos Fred Machabert
“Today’s stage was shortened because of the extreme heat, we only rode the last thirty-five kilometres. It went very fast. I fell in the final, another rider came and touched me and I fell. I got up quickly and Dayer immediately gave me his bike so that I could get back into the peloton without losing time. My team-mates were very important. I hope that tomorrow will be a very good stage. Concerning the crash, I have superficial wounds on my elbow. I hope that tomorrow everything will be OK and that I will be able to do a good stage as I had planned”.
“On such a short stage, we knew that there would be no time out. We had to be vigilant from the start to the finish. Nairo crashed at the foot of the last climb with 9 kilometres to go. He was quickly helped by his brother, brought back and replaced by his team-mates. He finished 14th of the stage. It was a little scare but the wounds are superficial and we are waiting for tomorrow’s stage which will be decisive for the overall classification.”