Nairo Quintana has said that the criticisms levelled at him after he failed to put in a concerted attack at Lagos de Covadonga on stage 15 of the Vuelta a Espaņa are not hurting him as much as his legs. At a press conference on Mondayīs rest day, the Movistar rider told reporters that he didnīt have the legs to take time. There was plenty of expectation on Quintanaīs shoulders heading into what was dubbed by some the queen stage of the race, not least because victory at Lagos de Covadonga had proved the making of his 2016 overall victory. Quintana had looked strong on La Camperona, the first of the three summit finishes that closed out the Vueltaīs second week, and Lagos de Covadonga was supposed to be his preferred terrain. Shrouded in mist, the group of favourites was whittled down to a select few on the lower slopes of the climb. Quintana dragged back a couple of attacks but failed to land his own decisive blow. He did not chase down Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) when he slipped up the road, much to the frustration of Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), and Quintana eventually gave away eight seconds to the red jersey - four of which came in bonus seconds.ADVERTISEMENT `I am not worried about the time that I have lost in the stage finishes, but I gave away time bonuses, which I donīt like,` Quintana said at his teamīs hotel in Suances on Monday. `The critics donīt hurt me, but sometimes the legs do. For this reason, I didnīt make attacks. I am not all-powerful and when there isnīt any more strength, I am not superior to the others. `Other years, I have done what I could and sometimes I went, this year no. But I am still at a great level.` Quintana heads into the final week of the Vuelta in third place overall, 33 seconds down on Yates. His teammate Alejandro Valverde, meanwhile, is ahead of him in the standings, 26 seconds behind Yates. Prior to the race, Quintana was expected to surge clear as the teamīs leader, but Valverde has put himself in a position of s ...
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