Things haven't been going the way Nairo Quintana and Movistar would have hoped so far this Giro d'Italia. The race started out with nearly a minute loss in the opening team time trial, and things haven't gone much better since then. On Thursday he finished 2:41 down on the time trial and, although still sixth overall, is already 3:29 behind leader Rigoberto Urán (Omega Pharma-QuickStep).
Quintana still sees his chance to make it up in the Giro's last week, with its heavily mountainous stages. "I like the Zoncolan stage. It is a very demanding climb, after 20 days of racing," he said. "It's not easy there at all. It's a challenge and it will be interesting to see how my body copes after so much effort before it."
The 24-year-old is the team captain in only his third grand tour, after finishing second in last year's Tour de France and winning both the King of the Mountains and the best young rider titles. "I don't see it as pressure. I see it as motivation," he said. "It gives me positive energy."
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