Nairo Quintana: "I have confidence" in Catalunya overall win

After a string of strong performances in the early season, Nairo Quintana has now found himself in a position where the overall win of the Volta a Catalunya is a big possibility. The Colombian finished second in today's stage and has taken over Ben O'Connor as race leader.

"It was very powerful, with plenty attacks, but in the end I arrived with the best. I couldn't do more because all teams had more riders," Quintana said in a post-race interview, after having pulled in the leader's jersey of the Volta a Catalunya. He now leads the race with the same time as João Almeida, but will have a tough battle in the days ahead to keep it.

He explained: "Attacking from far wasn't viable, furthermore as everyone was tight on energy. It was a shame I couldn't get the stage win, but it's better to be ahead then behind, I'll see how I'll defend the lead."

With the two mountain stages behind, Quintana has gone through the main obstacles of the race. However with tricky weather conditions and a rough final day in Barcelona, Quintana will have to defend himself from today's stage winner João Almeida, and Sergio Higuita mainly. "I have confidence, I've had good health and I'm motivated to work well," he concluded.