Having already lost a fair bit of time, Nairo Quintana saw his Giro ambitions being dealt another blow in today's time trial when he lost almost three minutes to new overall leader Rigoberto Uran. Still hampered by his recent crash, the Colombian blames the time loss on a cold that made it impossible for him to breathe properly.

Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) will tackle the last nine days of the Giro d'Italia with two obstacles to be overtaken: a cold, which has affected him in the last few days, and the 3'29" he will need to make up in the big mountains of the Corsa Rosa, starting this weekend. The Colombian finished in 14th spot in the first individual time trial of the race, a 42km route from Barbaresco to Barolo with three short climbs on mainly wet roads, where he performed at the height and constance of his expectations.

Third provisional through the first intermediate time, the leader of the telephone squad - who faced this TT in a relaxed mood, looking forward to saving energy and helping Quintana in the remainder of the race, except for a notable José Herrada (12th), who acted as reference for the Colombian - reached the second split with less than thirty seconds lost to all his main rivals. The only exception was Rigoberto Urán (OPQ), who dominated his competition to claim the stage win and the maglia rosa as GC leader.

Quintana got through the demanding finale and lost just over 1' to Evans (BMC) and Majka (TCS), 38" to Kelderman (BEL), 32" to Pozzovivo (ALM) and beat Aru (AST) and Morabito (BMC) to jump into 6th overall.

“It was a long time trial and I tried to hang in there as best I could,” he told Cyclingnews. “I wasn't as good as I had hoped. I had some problems with my breathing, not with my legs. I hope to recuperate in the coming days because the hardest days are still to come.

“I couldn't breathe well, it really affected me, and you notice that against your rivals who are in perfect condition. I am taking some antibiotics at the moment, but I hope I get through it, and I can be at my best for the decisive days - the idea is to still fight for this Giro."

Friday will bring stage thirteen, a theoretically calm, 157km route between Fossano and Rivarolo Canavese, which will lead the race into the alps for the mountain-top finishes in Oropa (Saturday) and Plan di Montecampione (Sunday).