Home fans may have become a little too involved in the action at Tour Colombia, after Nairo Quintana was knocked from his bike by a spectator.
But the Colombian would not be discouraged and went on to win the queen stage of his national tour, despite the fall.
Movistar’s Quintana was in an all-Colombian move, along with Miguel Ángel López (Astana), Egan Bernal and Ivan Sosa (Team Sky), when a fan stumbled into him and took him down in the final 3km.
But neither Lopez nor Sosa were willing to take to the front, allowing Quintana to power past them and take the win.
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Speaking after the stage, the 29-year-old said: “The love and passion of the fans and all the cheer I had from them all day gave me that final bit of energy I needed to launch the final attack and take the victory.
“The incident with the spectator? It’s an analogy of life.
“It happens sometimes – you stumble, you fall down, you’ve got to get back on your feet, rise again and keep fighting to win.”
The stage six queen stage was a 173.8km run from El Retiro to Alto de Palmas, with Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe in the leaders jersey at the start of the stage.
Quintana took the fight on early on the final climb, launching four attacks within 7km of the finish.
With 3km left to ride, a fan stumbled into Quintana, forcing him to put a foot down.
Sosa was caught up in the collision, but Bernal dropped back and helped his team-mate and compatriot rejoin the front of the race.
Lopez and Sosa had left Quintana behind, but the impetus faded with the front two Colombians marking each other.
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Quintana came past his rivals to take his first ever pro win in Colombia.
He added: “It’s a victory full of emotions, a big day of happiness, a day when we really worked hard together with the rest of the team
“It’s also a celebration I want to share with all Colombians, all Latin people, those who came over from abroad to this region, and especially those from here – stay happy, continue to enjoy cycling.
“Hopefully events like these can live on and prosper.”
Miguel Ángel López took over the race lead on the final stage to secure the overall win.
Ivan Sosa finished second in his first race in Team Sky colours, with EF Education First’s Daniel Martínez in third.
