Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Rigoberto Uran did what he could to minimize the damage, but he was unable to keep the Maglia Rosa after a confusing scenario on the Stelvio pass and an attack by main GC contenders at the 139.5km Stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.
Movistar Team rider Nairo Quintana was in a chase group behind the original breakaway, which attacked on the descent of the Stelvio. There was some confusion as to whether the descent was neutralized due to bad weather or not. By the time Quintana was past the descent, his gap was more than two minutes to Uran in the Maglia Rosa.
Quintana eventually caught solo leader Dario Cataldo (Team Sky), and he and Pierre Rolland (Team Europcar), as well as Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) carried on while Cataldo was distanced.
Uran put himself on the front of the group behind to try and chase down the leaders. But the steepness of Val Martello made the pursuit too difficult. Quintana went on to win the stage solo, with Hesjedal 2nd and Rolland 3rd.
Uran crossed the finish line 4'11" back from Quintana, which was enough to give Quintana the overall lead by 1'41" over Uran and 3'21" over Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team)
The Queen Stsge was considered to be one of the most brutal stages, with the Gavia, Stelvio, and Val Martello all in one stage. The weather ensured the stage would be difficult for all riders.
OPQS looks next to a flat, 208km Stage 17 on Wednesday.
"On the Stelvio I heard from Davide Bramati that the downhill will be controlled by motos with a red flag for the safety of the riders, and that we could have maintained our position on the descent without attacking," Uran said. "He told me to put on my rain jacket and pay attention in any case. At 300 or 400 meters I had my jacket from one of our masseurs. I managed to wear my jacket before the top so at that point I didn't stop at the top like a few of my colleagues did. I then started descending, but I didn't see any motorbike. During the descent riders came around me. I saw Majka and other guys but I didn't realize Quintana wasn't there. I only did a few kilometers when Bramati told me the gap was already significant. So, we then organized our chase. That is how it went. I think in normal circumstances the story of the race probably could have been different. Now I am 1'41" down from Quintana in the overall classification. But the Giro is not finished yet. We will keep going, we will try to take back the Maglia Rosa. We are not done fighting for pink.”
