Quintana wins the stage of the Tour de France "Pure Climber"

19659006] Five years after winning his first victory in the Alps, Movistar's little pilot triumphed at the top of the Col du Portet in the Pyrenees, the summit of the mountain at 2,215 meters altitude

. The race was a disappointing success in the Alps last week and the victory restored a smile to Quintana

Colombian Nairo Quintana celebrates his run to cross the line. finish and win the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France for 65 kilometers (40.4 miles) with start at Bagnères-de-Luchon Saint-Lary-Soulan, Portet Pbad, France, Wednesday 25 July 2018. The Tour de France France thinks to have some solutions to liven up the action with the shortest mountain stage of today with three grueling ascents, including a climb, an intermediate bonus sprints, and a start of Formula 1 grid. "(Photo AP / Peter Dejong)

" It was a step for pure climbers, "he said about the 17th stage, the shortest step on the road for more than 30 years. "It was a difficult day but we were well prepared, as planned."

Twice vice-champion of the Tour, Quintana arrived at the start in Noirmoutier in the hope of finally being able to impose. The team of Alejandro Valverde and the former teammate Chris Froome at Sky, Mikel Landa, have helped him.

But Quintana lost more than a minute during the first stop in the west of France. security zone. He has never been a factor in the Alps, losing more time on his favorite battlefield.

"I went through difficult times in the first part of this tour and lost time," Quintana said. overall standings Wednesday, 3 minutes and 30 seconds behind the leader of the race Geraint Thomas.

"But I still felt strong and I had enough energy to finish the race on a high note, I usually improve in the third week of the Tour."

There there is still a mountain stage before the race reaches Paris on Sunday and Quintana is unlikely to reverse his deficit, aware that his limited ability in the race against the clock will go against him in the time trial

Still, Quintana was proud to have won the third stage of Colombia this year, which allowed the South American nation to win the most successes ever. Here sprinter Fernando Gaviria also won two stage victories earlier in the race during his first Tour.

"I wanted to win for my people in Colombia, after months of hard work," said Quintana, who won the Giro d'Italia, la Vuelta. "My team also deserves this victory, she works very hard, we came here with a great team even if things did not go as planned. "

Once again, Quintana was bothered by mechanical problems. But his strategy at the explosive stage was a total success. He attacked from the yellow jersey group, with the Irishman Dan Martin, at the bottom of the last 16km climb and made the junction with other escaped runners before going solo in the # 39; rarefied air

Colombian Nairo Quintana, left, and Pole Rafal Majka climb the Col du Portet at the seventeenth stage of the 65-kilometer (40.4-mile) Tour de France cycling race with start at Bagnères-de-Luchon and finish at Saint-Lary-Soulan, Col du Portet, France, Wednesday, July 25, 2018. The Tour de France expects to have some solutions to liven up the action with the shortest mountain stage of today with three grueling climbs, including a climb to finish, Intermediate bonus sprints, and a Formula One grid start. (Photo Christoph e Ena)

Colombian Nairo Quintana, on the left, and Briton Chris Froome discuss before the start of the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race 65 kilometers (40.4 miles) with departure to Bagnères-de Luchon and arrival at Saint-Lary-Soulan, Col du Portet, France, Wednesday, July 25, 2018. The Tour de France thinks to have some solutions to animate the action with the mountain stage the Today 's shorter with three grueling climbs, including a finish climb, intermediate bonus sprints, and a Formula One grid start. (AP Photo / Christophe Ena)