Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana will be among the top-notch contenders of the Tour de France starting in two weeks, but today at least another Colombian put on a great show on the mountains of Route du Sud toughest stage, the third, Izaourt-Bagneres de Luchon (181 km).

It was Colombia-Coldeportes Miguel Angel Rubiano, who was the first to sparkle the battle among the top favorites on the last ascent of the day to the Port de Balet, taking with him a reduced group including the two big favorites. In the end, it was Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) who secured both the stage and the overall lead, 17 seconds ahead of Quintana (Movistar) and 35 ahead of Ag2r-La Mondiale’s Pierre-Roger Latour.

Rubiano was sixth on the day, 1.01 adrift, and occupies now the same position in the overall classification, with just one stage to go in the French race. Rubiano’s shining performance was not the only one to remark for Colombia-Coldeportes on the day: in spite of being the youngest pro in the peloton, 19-year-old Daniel Martinez once again showed outstanding maturity and determination, working his way into the day’s breakaway, and passing first atop the first two categorized climbs of the day.

With today’s performance, Martinez put a hold on the best climber’s jersey: nobody will be able to take it away from him in tomorrow’s stage.

“Rubiano was very, very strong today,” Sports Director Valerio Tebaldi said. “We were extremely impressed with his performance. He showed up great against riders who will be starting the Tour de France in a matter of days, and never gave up until the finish. He capped another very solid display by the team, who have done a great job in this race so far. Actually, Miguel could have been slightly more conservative against Contador and Quintana: with some more energy in the final kilometres, he could have moved further up in the standings but, really, he deserves praise for all he has done today.

“Daniel was fantastic too. He is so young, and yet looks so mature: he did not have an easy job on hand today, and hardly made any little mistake in executing it. He was super excited after wearing the jersey, and we all share the happiness for this achievement, that is so important for him at this point in his career,” Tebaldi added.

The Route du Sud will come to a close tomorrow, Sunday, with the fourth stage: Revel-Gaillac of 166 km.

Colombia-Coldeportes could not be as much satisfied after Tour de Slovenia stage 3, with the uphill finish to Trije Kralji after 178 km. Brayan Ramirez had featured in an early breakaway attempt, but in the finale Alex Cano and Carlos Quintero could not manage to leave their mark, with the latter being the best team rider to the line, behind winner and new overall leader Primoz Roglic (Adria Mobil).

Also Tour de Slovenia will see its final stage on Sunday, with a 165 km effort from Roganska Slatina to Novo Mesto.