Nairo Quintana (Movistar) secured final overall victory in the 2013 Vuelta a Burgos with a devastating attack in the final kilometres of the summit finish of the fifth and final stage, between Comunero de Revenga and Lagunas de Neila. The Colombian, who won both the mountains classification and the young rider’s jersey in the Tour de France - in addition to finishing second overall - broke clear of Giro d’Italia champions Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Ivan Basso (Cannondale), and former teammate David Arroyo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), and rode on to finish alone on the 1,900 metre high summit.
Arroyo took second place, just ahead of Basso, 23 seconds back, with a tiring Nibali coming in after 48 seconds.
Since he started the day just 17 seconds behind overnight race leader Anthony Roux (FDJ.fr), who had been dropped long ago, Quintana’s stage win was enough to earn him the overall race victory, with Arroyo - who started the day on the same time as the Colombian - second, and Nibali third.
"It all turned out perfectly, just like we planned it before starting the race,” said Quintana. “We were hoping to lose as little time as possible in the days prior to this stage to try and win the race on the Queen one. The climb suits lighter specialists well, and the team worked perfectly so I could deliver.
“It's not that I was afraid of losing, but with such strong rivals, in great condition leading up to the Vuelta a España, I had some doubts about being able to stay on their wheel or lose it,” the Colombian added. “I spent the whole stage at the front and that costs you some more energy, but when I saw them losing a bit of spirit, I attacked and it all came to fruition.
“The team was sensational,” he added. “They supported me throughout the race so I did neither suffer crashes nor lose any time, and they were protecting me until the last climb today - I was really calm thanks to them. They relied on me all season long - they were even more convinced of my own chances than myself. They really knew that, when we were committed to win, we would be doing our best and achieve it. Now it's time to travel back to Colombia, take a bit of rest and getting into preparations for the Worlds."
There were several unsuccessful attacks in the opening kilometres of the 170km stage, but it was not until the 52km point that Ben Gastauer (IAM Cycling), Robinson Chalapud (Colombia) and Amets Txurruka (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) escaped. The three riders were joined from behind by Igor Merino (Euskadi) and Francesco Failli (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) and, as Movistar led the peloton, slowly built a lead.
The five-rider group’s advantage was to reach a maximum of 2’35” after 87km, however, as Quintana’s team refused to let them get far on the hilly parcours. Luis Guillermo Mas (Burgos BH-Castilla y León) tried to jump across the gap with 60km to go, when it was down to 1’50”, but was only able to get within 45 seconds of the leaders before being caught by the peloton as Movistar began to accelerate.
The Spanish team was shrinking the peloton as the final climb approached, with no more than 20 riders remaining - which did not include Roux - as its slopes began.
Arroyo was the first to make a move, with 5.7km, but was calmly hunted down before he could get far. Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) then had a go himself, but he took was pulled back by Movistar.
As his teammate was caught, Nibali attacked, and only Quintana and Basso were able to follow, while Arroyo managed to claw his way across to the three riders. Arroyo attacked with 3.5km to go, but was quickly closed down by Nibali, who had the others on his wheel.
Meanwhile, behind the lead group on the road, the chase group with Mikel Landa (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Tiralongo were blown off the road by the downdraft of the helicopter. They were soon moving again, but were caught by a group containing Samuel Sánchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) shortly after.
Arroyo attacked again under the 2km banner, with Basso leading the chase. Nibali attacked his compatriot with just over a kilometre left and pulled Quintana up to the lone leader. As they caught Arroyo, however, Quintana accelerated himself and left the others behind.
Once the Colombian was clear he kept going to the line, crossing it alone with a smile wider than any he had shown in the Tour de France. Arroyo and Basso arrived 23 seconds later, with the Spaniard outsprinting the Italian, and the exhausted Nibali came in after 48 seconds.
Quintana’s overall victory was confirmed as Roux finally crossed the line, 8’20” behind.
Result stage 5
1. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
2. David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 23s
3. Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling @ 25s
4. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team @ 48s
5. Andre Fernando Cardoso (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 1’08”
6. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
7. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team @ 1’18”
8. Mikel Landa (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi @ 1’24”
9. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Katusha Team @ 1’44”
10. José Sarmiento (Col) Cannondale Pro Cycling
Final overall standings
1. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
2. David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 23s
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team @ 55s
4. Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team @ 1’14”
5. Andre Fernando Cardoso (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA @ 1’16
6. Mikel Landa (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi @ 1’24”
7. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Katusha Team @ 1’29”
8. Samuel Sánchez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi @ 1’53”
9. José Sarmiento (Col) Cannondale Pro Cycling @ 2’07”
10. Ivan Basso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling @ 2’17”