Quintana makes solid Vuelta a Espana defence on Mas de La Costa

Vuelta a España leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar) overcame the Mas de la Costa climb on stage 17 without any difficulty on Wednesday. It was the first of the three big remaining obstacles en route to the overall victory. After Thursday's 191km transitional stage, he still faces a daunting 39km time trial, and another summit finale before the parade in Madrid on Sunday.

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Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.