Quintana looks back on his rivalry with Froome and is candid about Pogačar: 'I couldn't keep up with him, even in my prime'

Read more below the photo!

Quintana bid a spectacular farewell in his home country, with thousands of people turning out for the event. All sorts of current and former pros had also traveled to Colombia, including Rigoberto Urán, Egan Bernal, Samuel Sánchez, Joaquim Rodríguez, and Alberto Contador. Froome was there as well—his great rival during his absolute prime.

"He was here, and we talked," Quintana says of his meeting with Froome at his farewell. “Aside from the rivalry, the beauty of this sport is that it helps you make friends. And it’s clear that the fans wanted to see him, too, because thanks to them, many were inspired and motivated to keep going.”

Quintana finished second in the Tour in 2013 and 2015, behind the Brit. That last year was particularly exciting, but the Colombian was actually always trailing 1-0.

“They had the strongest team, and I had a significant disadvantage in the time trial. It was always a handicap for me, but despite that, I was able to do my best to defend myself and secure a good position.” He did, however, beat him in the 2016 Vuelta a España.

He also won the Giro d'Italia once. Would he trade those stage victories for a single yellow jersey? “No. I always say that I did my best. The goal was, of course, always the Tour de France—that was the closest we came when I started—and I gave it my all. If I’ve done my absolute best, I don’t dwell on what I fell short on, or why, or for what. I’m very happy with my career; I gave it 100 percent.”

A few years after the showdowns between Quintana and Froome, Tadej Pogačar took over as the king of cycling. But would the Colombian be a contender at his peak? “Impossible, impossible. Absolutely impossible. Even in my prime, I wouldn’t have been able to compete. I had the numbers I had, and in recent years I’ve even improved them, but I kept falling further and further behind in the general classification.”

In an attempt to beat Froome, Movistar started the Tour de France twice with a veritable “tridente”: the trio of Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, and Mikel Landa. But what was supposed to create a dominant advantage in the mountains actually led to friction. The trio struggled to get along as co-leaders, and the results were deeply disappointing.

Quintana now talks about those difficult times. “It wasn’t easy for me at the time to share that role. It’s kind of like having three leaders, or having someone placed next to you who does the same thing in his or her job. There was clearly some discomfort on all three sides, because the strategy was no longer focused on a single leader, but on three.”

But all that is in the past now. The three climbers get along well. “We’ve remained friends. I knew they also wanted and needed to pursue their own personal goals, and of course there were team goals as well. I understood that completely, and that’s why I’ve always been respectful. We parted ways on friendly terms.”