Nairo Quintana has seen the opening few stages of the Vuelta a Espana at the race’s presentation. The Colombian has warned that there may be riders losing touch in the first week due to severe heat and four hilltop finishes.

“The first stages we know that they must be done, that there shouldn’t be too many complications but they could cause some problems,” Quintana told Spanish website Biciciclismo. “They are not usually bad roads but they are explosive days, especially the first two summit finishes. We will be in summer and the heat could be an influence but on those stages in the mountains it will perhaps be somewhat less noticeable.”

But, like all other attendees at the presentation, the stage that left its mark most on Quintana is stage eleven, with 138km in length and six categorized climbs, with his team boss Eusebio Unzue calling it “the hardest Grand Tour stage” he has ever seen.

“The stage in Andorra is rough. It has no rest. It’s not long but the climbs will be terrible. It will go up and down all day,” said Quintana. “Then come the stages in the north. I climbed the Fuente del Chivo in the Circuito Montañes, although it has been six years so I don’t remember much. It will be a stage to take care, with demanding terrain. Later we will go through the summit finish of Sotres and finally the Ermita del Alba stage with very broken terrain and two very important final climbs.”

There is also the small matter of a 40km flat time trial, which Quintana thinks may be decisive not only due to the length, but the high possibility of wind too.

“The time trial is not completely flat but it is 40km and you will have to take care in if there is wind. Surely not much will happen until the penultimate stage with (Puerto de) Cotos 20 kilometres from the finish you will have to be very attentive.”