Three days to season debut

Colombian set to start fifth season in Blue alongside Soler, Ventoso, Malori, Dayer and Dani Moreno; likes heat and route "not so difficult", hard yet balanced, on pre-race press conference

Nairo Quintana and the Movistar Team reached the Hotel Villa Suites in the city of San Luis yesterday, after a long, two-day journey, almost non-stop, from their homes in Europe and America. The leader of the telephone squad spoke to the media in Ezeiza early in the morning, just next to the Buenos Aires airport where the Blues took a second flight towards the center of Argentina, which they landed on at noon.

“My main goal is fighting for a podium place here,” said the winner of the 2014 Giro d'Italia. “It's the start of the season, and it's too long to come here so early and think about winining at any cost.” However, he pointed out that the Movistar Team is “already used to such kind of races – we're ready to take on this first challenge."

The Tour de San Luis “is going to be spectacular," says the 25-year-old from Boyacá. "It's a huge show for the entire region, with those riders that any fan of cycling would like to find close to his home. I'm here because this is a sunny race, where you don't suffer with low temperatures like in Europe – this invites you to perform at this early stage. Also, being close to my country and in America, the area I'm from, is another plus for me to come here”. He's not concerned about heat at all: “We're getting more and more used to these extremes.”