Tour de Suisse: Quintana climbs to stage 7 win

Movistar’s Nairo Quintana won the seventh stage of the Tour de Suisse on Friday with an impressive ride on the 27-kilometer final climb.

The Colombian left the GC group behind on the early slopes of the ascent and then overtook one breakaway rider after another on his way up. He crossed the line 22 seconds ahead of Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), with race leader Richie Porte (BMC Racing) finishing third on the same time.

“I wanted to see what my real form was, and fortunately, I’m feeling great at the moment,” Quintana said after his victory. “It’s important for one’s own body and the whole squad to see ourselves doing great before the Tour de France. It was a big test for us today, and there’s another one awaiting on Sunday.”

Porte remains in yellow with two stages to go, including a time trial likely to favor him in the final stage. Quintana’s banner day in the Alps propelled him to second overall. He sits 17 seconds down on Porte after stage 7, with Sunweb’s Wilco Kelderman in third, 52 seconds back.

A break of more than two dozen riders got clear in the early goings of the day. BMC drove the pace in the peloton to keep the escapees from opening up too much of a gap, with the break’s advantage topping out at around four minutes.

On the run-in to the final climb, Movistar took over at the front, pulling the pack closer to the break and setting up Quintana, who wasted no time going on the attack as soon as the road tilted upward some 27 kilometers from the line.

Porte and a small selection of other GC riders initially chased Quintana down but he quickly went again and left his rivals in the rearview mirror for good.

As he worked his way up the final climb, Quintana caught and passed survivors of the early break and then linked up with Movistar’s Victor de la Parte, who helped give his team leader a breather for a few kilometers. A small group of former breakaway riders formed around the Movistar duo, but Quintana kicked clear in the final five kilometers to lead the race solo.

Despite the best efforts of Porte and Fuglsang in pursuit, Quintana stayed clear to take the stage victory.

The Tour de Suisse continues Saturday with a 123-kilometer sprinter-friendly stage in and around Bellinzona before the race concludes with Sunday’s time trial.