Quintana seals second Route du Sud title

Quintana seals second Route du Sud title

TOULOUSE (FRANCE) - Tour de France contender Nairo Quintana won the Route du Sud on Sunday for the second time following the 155km fifth and final stage.

Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana, pictured on June 10, 2016, won the Route du Sud

French sprinter Arnaud Demare won a sprint finish to claim stage honours ahead of compatriots Yohann Gene and Stephane Poulhies following eight laps of a circuit around the Clermont-Pouyguilles commune.

Movistar's Quintana, 26, had already won this race in 2012 and was second to Spain's Alberto Contador last year.

It is his only Tour de France build-up race after the Colombian opted to skip the traditional week-long stage races of the Criterium du Dauphine and Tour of Switzerland.

Quintana took control of the race by winning the hilly time-trial on Friday.

He won by 36 seconds to Spanish Movistar team-mate Marc Soler, who won Saturday's fourth stage, with Frenchman Nicolas Edet third at 1min 6sec.

Briton Hugh Carthy had started the day in third place overall but crashed close to the end of the final stage and fell down to 22nd overall.

Quintana had started as overwhelming favourite for a race that rarely attracts the biggest names, although two-time Tour de France champion Contador won last year.

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