Interviewed by Velonews, Movistar coach Mikel Zabala has talke about team captain Nairo Quintana. He thinks that the Colombian rider will be able to win the Tour de France and to beat Chris Froome.

This summer Quintana attacked the yellow jersey on the Alpe d'Huez stage, one day before the race finished in Paris. Froome crossed the finish line 1:20 behind Quintana.

"The last season was good enough in terms of tools for training and so on. We got what we wanted out of the year; the only mistake was that Froome was too strong! Nairo’s still young, so we can expect improvements working year by year. Sometimes it’s just a matter of time", Zabala explained.

"We always tried to fight and attack, but at the same time, it was not suicide. Sky is not a group of kids — the same with team Astana and team Tinkoff. They are also good teams. We used all the tactics and attacks that we could do, but then we are not the team to wait and wait for something to happen, Zabala added.

“The thing is Chris Froome is good in all types of terrain. It’s so difficult to beat such a good rider with such a good team. You must be at your best and at the same time, use all the positive circumstances that you may find. You never know. Look at Bradley Wiggins in the Giro when he cracked on the wet stage [in 2013 to Pescara].”

Quintana will start he season in Argentina at the Tour de San Luis. He will skip the Giro d'Italia and race the Tour de France and the Olympic race.