Cycling
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Nairo Quintana set for Tour de France battle with Chris Froome

Cycling

Nairo Quintana is confident he is primed to challenge Chris Froome at the Tour de France despite his exertions in finishing second in the Giro d'Italia in May.

The Colombian, who has twice finished runner-up to Froome in France and was third in last year's Tour, has embarked on an ambitious Giro-Tour double this year.

The Movistar rider was surprisingly beaten by Tom Dumoulin in the Giro, and has seen his status as the main favourite to challenge three-time winner Froome in France drift as attention turns to the in-form Richie Porte of BMC.

"To me, Froome still looks like the big favourite. He always approaches the Tour perfectly, he's a race he's been brilliant at in the past, and I'm sure he'll be at 100 percent condition in July.

"Porte -- we've all seen him riding strong for the past few years, and he's shown great abilities that make him a strong contender. Then there's Contador and Bardet, two riders with different skills, but as much dangerous.

"Also the Orica riders, with Yates and Chaves; the Astana duo, with Aru and Fuglsang, who seem to be getting to the start in great form -- and, as I said before the Giro and the Dumoulin success, there's always some sort of surprise, riders you don't count on to get a result and end up contesting the GC."

Alberto Contador was the last man to attempt the double in 2015 but after winning the Giro he faded badly in the Tour. Many expect Quintana to suffer the same fate but the 27-year-old was upbeat about his shape ahead of the race, which starts in Dusseldorf on July 1.

"I'm feeling good on the bike so far this month," he said after a number of training rides along parts of the Tour route. I should be getting stronger in the next few days and thus reach the start in the best possible condition. The Giro went good for me, in that sense of my approach, and that makes me tackle the Tour with good expectations." 

Quintana wrestled the Giro leader's pink jersey off Dumoulin after stage 19 of the Giro, only to lose it in the final time trial in Milan.

"Now that it's a bit further behind us, I still feel that what I did in the Giro was good," Quintana added in quotes distributed by his team. "We were so close to accomplishing our goal and we claimed a very decent podium finish, with excellent teamwork from all of the squad's members.

"It was obviously a bit sad not seeing things go as we expected in the end, but that makes me even more hungry and determined to chase the goals left in this season. I just hope I'm healthy and fortunate enough to take that final step forward in the Tour."

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