Nairo Quintana definitely did something

Prepare yourselves for enthusiastic-yet-vague coverage because I totally missed this stage and YET IT SOUNDS AMAZING.

Nairo Quintana has definitely recovered. He appears to have smashed the Giro to smithereens, finishing 4m11s ahead of previous race leader, Rigoberto Uran.

That time gap again – 4m11s.

It was snowy. It was dangerous. There was a suggestion that they wouldn’t race down from the highest point in the race – the top of the Stelvio Pass – but they bloody well did. This is where Quintana got away from Uran and from then on he and a changing cast of accomplices inched him further and further ahead.

Uran came ninth and most of those ahead of him were major contenders – although poor Cadel Evans wasn’t among them. Somehow the stumpy Oz is still third, but they’re queuing up to get past him. In fact, the battle for third might be all that’s left of this race after Quintana’s performance.

Here’s the top seven. Seven’s the standard leaderboard number. It’s got nothing to do with who’s seventh.

  1. Chuffed Nairo Quintana – 68h11m44s
  2. Sulky Rigoberto Uran Uran – 1m41s behind
  3. Worried Cadel Evans – 3m21s
  4. Pierre Rolland who’s come from nowhere – 3m26s
  5. Possibly fading Rafal Majka – 3m28s
  6. Plain old Fabio Aru – 3m34s
  7. Domenico Pozzovivo – 3m49s

The race is on! But not much! Because Nairo Quintana’s basically won! Hasn’t he? I don’t know! I keep getting everything wrong! And I probably won’t see any of the next few stages either!

Stage 17

Something thrown to the sprinters to keep them from sloping home in a huff before the end of the race.


Comments

5 responses to “Nairo Quintana definitely did something”

  1. Habib avatar

    The Giro organisers put out a tweet saying the descent was neutralised as they were getting towards the top of the Stelvio. However, they didn’t actually do anything such as flag flying or pacing motorbikes or apparently announce it on race radio. As soon as they realised they hadn’t thought this out they deleted the tweet. It seems that the opqs ds believed twitter. At one point I saw Uran taking his time on the descent. But while all this was happening, and seemingly not on camera Quintana, Rolland and Hesjedal buggered off and the next heard about them was they were two minutes ahead. This one will no doubt run and run. Interestingly, Movistar revenge for opqs crosswinds tour stage from last year?

    1. Habib avatar

      I think my initial take on things seems to need correction. Bit of a shame about this mess. Best version of events so far is here: http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/05/news/confusion-neutralization-throws-giro-chaos_329760

  2. Habib, we must alert our host to this quite delicious line from the article you linked to: said our Domenico, “What neutralization? I was descending as fast as I could.” I think any riders who were in a group going at Pozzovivo speed could be forgiven for assuming no-one was allowed to attack.

    1. I thought something similar. I imagined everyone else dawdling down the mountain, thinking the descent was neutralised with Domenico racing like mad, yet only succeeding in staying with them.

  3. Longtime reader, first-time commenter on this and your cricket site, Kind Host.

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