Nairo Quintana had no trouble to claim overall success in the 2017 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.
“I’m very happy about this victory. We knew it wouldn’t be easy today, and indeed it turned out to be very nervous due to the strong winds we had to face.” said Quintana after the last stage.
”Fortunately, both the team and I kept attention at all times and in the end it was no problem for us to conserve this jersey. I don’t consider it was an easier victory than previous ones. After so many months without racing, the TTT was really hard for us.”
“Considering the gaps created by the team trial, we were thinking it’d be sort of an impossible feat to reach the leader’s jersey. The other days weren’t easy, either, as we suffered with strong winds, lots of stress… Saturday might have been a bit less difficult, because the team’s work helped me to get to the foot of the ascent much fresh, and I could finish it off well. It’s all about my team-mates’ work: they covered me perfectly all week.”
Nairo Quintana is targeting a Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double in 2017 as the Colombian bids to become only the eighth rider to win both Grand Tours in the same year.
“My fitness level at this point of the season is similar to what I found last year. We’ve got two big goals ahead, the Giro and the Tour, and we know that finding the correct approach will be key to our success. For the time being, we’re on the right path to get there at 100%, but should any other opportunities come along the way, we’ll chase them. I’m one of those who likes winning in January or February, and I also try to be in good condition up until the end of the season. Now it’s time to have some rest and prepare for the Abu Dhabi Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico, my next two races.”
