“This climb is so historic and means so much to this race especially being the 100th edition. And I didn't expect to win here today. I wanted to get more of a buffer on GC but I didn't think I could go for the win. [Nairo] Quintana is a very strong climber and I wasn't expecting him to go from as far as he did but hats off to him, he did a great ride and he showed how strong he is. When I did catch up to him, I thought: ‘This guys is going to win the stage today and I'm going to have to settle for second'. But then, in the last 2km, he was fading a little and I still had a little bit left. We talked a little bit and I was just trying to say, ‘Man, come on just a little bit more... we're almost there...' but he was slipping behind.
“Near the end, I don't think that I attacked it was just that he couldn't ride on my wheel anymore and a gap opened up.”
