Quintana Attacked Col du Galibier and Won Stage 18!

I've been rooting for Nairo Quintana for years.  The Colombian is a great climber, and he showed what he can do today.  He crossed the finish line in the rain and with blood on his jersey, possibly from a nosebleed while at high altitude (click on image for a larger view).

He attacked on the Col du Galibier with about 26.3 km (16.3 mi) left in the stage, and nobody could keep up him.  The riders he left seemed almost stunned at how Quintana burst forward.  Check out where Quintana made his move (click on image for a larger view).

You can see Quintana in his blue Movistar Team jersey.  He owned the final 7.5 km (4.7 mi) of the climb and easily crossed the peak first (click on image for a larger view).

I was not only thrilled for Quintana, I was thrilled for our model.

• Stage 18:  5h 34' 15" (actual), 5h 38' 19" (prediction), 04' 04" slow (1.22% error)

We nailed the first stage in the Alps!  Quintana's great climb led to a top-notch average speed.

• Stage 18:  10.37 m/s (37.34 kph or 23.20 mph)

It was a joy to watch Quintana on that final climb.  He vaulted from #12 to #7 in the general classification, now 03' 54" behind Julian Alaphilippe.  The race leader passed his first big test today, only sacrificing five seconds on his lead.  Expect attacking tomorrow on a relatively short 126.5-km (78.6-mi) mountain stage.  Riders will not want to leave everything to the final mountain stage.

Stage 19 begins in the commune of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.  Cyclists will head mostly east and mostly uphill for the first 70% of the stage.  That major uphill effort will culminate in the Hors catégorie climb to the 2770-m (9088-ft) peak of Col de l'Iseran.  The stage finishes with a category-1 climb into Tignes.  Our prediction is given below.

• Stage 19:  3h 32' 37" (prediction)

If a few riders are able to maintain a lot of pressure on the yellow jersey, we could be a tad slow.  I'm anxious to see more Alps climbing tomorrow!