Tour de France: Colombian Nairo Quintana still dreams of yellow

Usually, at this time of year, Nairo Quintana is on the Tour de France, to fight with the greatest cyclists on the passes of the Alps or the Pyrenees. However, due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, he was still confined to his favorite training routes, near his native village of Cómbita, at 2,800 meters above sea level.

France 24 went to meet the "scarab", who has not given up on his "yellow dream" for the Great Loop, whose departure is now scheduled for August 29. "We have adapted by putting the date of August 29 in our heads and have started our preparation", explains the Colombian cyclist, calm despite the upheaval of the cycling calendar caused by the Covid-19.

A start to the season with a fanfare

At 30, the Colombian cyclist signed a thunderous start to the season at the start of 2020 with five victories in 16 days of racing: a stage and the general classification during the Tour de Provence, a stage and the general classification of the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes and of Var. He is also the last winner to date on a World Tour race (the highest level of cycling): just before the Covid-19 brought world sport to a standstill almost completely, it had indeed imposed itself during the last stage of Paris-Nice.

Gone are the wait-and-see Nairo Quintana of recent years. The beginning of 2020 marked the return of the "Kingtana", imperial as soon as the road begins to rise. A return to grace that coincides with his change of team. After eight years in the blue Movistar jersey, he went under the Breton flag, wearing the red and black tunic of the Arkea Samsic.

A new climate which seems to suit the Colombian, far from the eternal war of the leaders and egos of the Spanish formation. "I feel very good, recognizes Nairo Quintana. We saw it at the start of the season, there are great people on this team. So it's going well, I feel happy (...), there are a lot of peace."

"I don't feel like a favorite"

The Colombian "scarab" approaches the Tour de France which arrives with great calm and ambition And for good reason, the 2020 route seems to be built for him: many mountain stages (its strong point) and a single cross- shows (its weak point). However, Nairo Quintana refuses the favorite cap.

"I don't feel like a favorite. I think there are much more favorite riders than me and stronger teams. We will be well, in good condition and we will fight for the general classification," confides he in reference to his compatriot, the young prodigy Egan Bernal, who last year became the youngest winner of the Tour de France in history and who will defend his crown in the Ineos team. And to add: "There are young people who arrive on the circuit and who are very strong, but so are we. We will be well prepared and we have experience."

>> See also: Egan Bernal, winner of the Tour de France: "I barely wake up from this dream"

If Egan Bernal styled it at the post in 2019 to become the first Colombian winner of the Tour de France, Nairo Quintana has not given up on his dream of becoming the first Colombian to join the very closed circle of legends who won the Big Three turns. If he were to win the yellow jersey in Paris after having conquered the Tour of Italy (2014) and the Tour of Spain (2016), he would only be the eighth rider in this cenacle alongside Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi , Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and more recently Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Christopher Froome. Asked about this "yellow dream", Nairo Quintana can not suppress a smile and admit that he does not plan to stop without having won it.

"Adrenaline is missing"

After two months of confinement where he "took the opportunity to spend time with family", the Colombian runner was able to find the Colombian roads in mid-May, but he recognizes that he now misses competition

View this post on Instagram

A summary of lo que fue mi semana. @arkeasamsic @canyon @ekoicycling

A post shared by Nairo Quintana (@nairoquincoficial) on Jun 14, 2020 at 4:03 pm PDT

"It lacks adrenaline," breathes this born competitor, who is not afraid of a possible shape differential compared to his competitors due to the confinements of variable geometry depending on the country.

>> Read also: Tour de France: between uncertainties and teleworking, cycling at the time of Covid-19

"I think it will be the same for everyone. We will all have been confined and followed the rules in force in each of our respective countries. Only those who have not been confined will have a bonus because they have not had this forced stop [this is particularly the case of Belgian runners who had government authorization to train on the road, note. But for the rest, we are all at the same point. What will differentiate us will be the preparation that was made during these two months of confinement that we were each at home. We will only know once in the race if this preparation has been good or bad, "he analyzes.

"Polytrauma to the right knee"

Experience, serenity, preparation. All the ingredients seem to be there for Nairo Quintana to shine the colors of Arkea Samsic…. Unless an injury comes to thwart his hopes.

Indeed, a few days after this interview, the "scarab" was the victim on July 3 of a road accident in Motavita, northeast of Bogota, while he was training with his brother and teammate Dayer Quintana . Arkéa Samsic said that "no fracture has been diagnosed". Nevertheless, the runner suffers from "polytrauma to the right knee" and must therefore observe two weeks of rest.

News from @NairoQuinCo after the exams he took after his accident Friday in training. No fracture but an inflammation in the right knee which forces him to observe 2 weeks of rest. A downside in its preparation before its return to Europe. pic.twitter.com/Swdrrt3PDo

According to the press release from Arkéa Samsic, the Colombian considered that this unavailability would not affect "in any case" his preparation "for his objective of the year which is the Tour de France". Nairo Quintana should therefore be at the start of the Great Loop to try to make his "yellow dream" a reality.

Adapted from Spanish by Romain Houeix. Find the original version here.

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