Even though Nairo Quintana benefited most from the confusion created by Giro d’Italia organizers atop the Stelvio during its 16th stage, claiming a non-celebrated victory in Val Marcello and stripping his countryman Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) off the maglia rosa, the happenings from Tuesday saw Pierre Rolland suddenly becoming a podium contender of the three-week event.

While most of the race favorites took their time on Stelvio to take warmer clothes and were cautiously rolling down the dangerous descent alongside race leader, convinced that racing was neutralized for the time they go downhill, a group of six riders went clear off the maglia rosa group to open up significant time gaps.

By the time when GC contenders realized that several riders took off on the descent, including Quintana, Rolland and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) the time difference has already grown to over one minute and increased to two minutes when escapees reached the flat section.

Even though the race radio, not entirely clearly, informed team managers and sports directors that there would be no racing on the descent of the Stelvio and riders would be led by motorbikes through dangerous hairpins, after crossing the finish line in Val Martello 1:13 down on Quintana, Rolland insisted that he didn’t hear about any neutralization.

"No, not all. Some riders were talking about going up the Gavia at a steady pace alright but within a couple of kilometres there were some attacks. And from there on, the race had started."

“Like I said already, I only heard about this polemic at the finish. Before that I wasn’t aware of anything,” Rolland told Cyclingnews.

The Europcar leader, however, was quick to make it clear that even though he started descending in first positions alongside his team-mate Romain Sicard, it was the 24-year old Colombian to pass them and set fierce pace while riding downhill.

"Up there with the rain and the snow, it was like the conditions I have when I train in the Jura and that allowed me to do a good descent and get back up to the escapees," Rolland said.

“I started the descent of the Stelvio in the first few riders because on the way down the Gavia a lot of riders had attacked on the descent,” Rolland said. “I attacked it with my teammate Romain [Sicard] and we were first and second in the group. But we did the descent very calmly because we didn’t want to take risks, that’s all.

“Then Quintana came back up and was going very fast. Romain went after him and then I passed Romain just to follow Quintana. For a long time, it was just the two of us and then [Gorka] Izaguirre caught up and he did the whole end of the descent à fond – full on.”

While the television pictures left no doubts that Quintana group, including Rolland, were not only led by motorbike rider waving the red flag but have passed him, the French rider insists that he was unaware of any neutralization and didn’t see any flags due to difficult weather conditions, which somehow didn’t prevent him from taking full risk on that descent.

“With all the racing capes and wet weather clothing, my radio was coming in and out all day long, so to pass on information in those conditions is almost impossible” – and said that he did not see any red flag as he made his way down the Stelvio.

“No, I didn’t see because I was busy enough trying to figure out my own trajectory on slippery roads,” he said. “You can imagine how it is at an altitude 2700 metres, in all that snow – you see motorbikes alright but personally I didn’t notice any red flag.”

While time differences created on the Stelvio descent were enough for Rolland to finish the stage third and suddenly become a podium contender of this Giro d’Italia, the Europcar leader was decent enough not to excessively emphasize gains he obtained in controversial circumstances.

"Right now, I'm just thinking about recovering," Rolland said, already turning to leave. "After that, I'll take a look at the GC."

“Ah, we’ll see,” Rolland said, as the peloton began to amble onto the road to Vittorio Veneto.