Mikel Landa moved up to fifth place and Chris Froome held firm in second overall after a whirlwind stage 13 at the Tour de France.
Landa hit out on the day’s first climb, the Col de Latrape, and went clear alongside Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) as Team Sky put on an attacking show across the short and sharp 101 kilometre stage.
Landa and Contador were joined by Quintana and Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) just ahead of the final descent and the quartet went on to do battle for the stage win, with Frenchman Barguil emerging victorious on Bastille Day.
“We saw yesterday that Mikel was feeling great so it was a great card for us to play today. I’ve got a lot of faith in Mikel and I think he showed that today”, said Froome.
“He’s a real threat now for the overall title in Paris and it’s a great card for us to play, especially when Astana don’t have the numbers to control the race.”
Landa followed Contador’s attack on the Col de Latrape and revealed afterwards that he thought his fellow Spaniard would be a good option to attack with. He said: “I think it was a nice wheel to follow. He attacked and he is a very good rider in those kind of short and very explosive stages. So I followed him and then we worked very well together.”
Asked if he thought about the chances of moving into the yellow jersey, Landa added: “I thought about it, but always knowing that it was very difficult.”
