Among Colombian fans, expectations are growing that Boyaca native Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) will be in contention for the finish of stage 12 of the Tour de France atop the Alpe d'Huez after his stunning performance on Wednesday in the Col de Granon The race is now in the hands of the Tour de France's top contenders.

Quintana, who had already put in an impressive performance on the cobbled stage in the first week, attacked from the main group 8km from the summit of Granon on stage 11, overtaking teammate Warren Barguil, who had attacked earlier in the day. At one point it looked as if he would be the winner of the day.

He was then overtaken by Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma), who would later take the yellow jersey, but Quintana finished the stage in second place, 59 seconds back, and moved up to fifth overall, 2:37 back.

"Nairo will have to race intelligently, calculating his strength," Ivan Mayo, the 2003 Alpe d'Huez winner, told the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo." He is close to the podium and the riders in front of him will battle hard."

"The last climb (of stage 12) is very hard, but the two previous ones are harder, so the last climb will be key for the day. It would be easy to lose the race there."

Quintana himself has attempted the Alpe d'Huez three times, in 2013, 2015, and 2018, and although he has never won, it was the most memorable climb of his career in 2015, when he came closest to winning the Tour, taking time away from an out-of-shape Chris Froome.

"We're doing well and the team is in very good shape.

"My attack was due to the way the race unfolded, and since we didn't have a team to make the race, I took advantage of the situation as much as I could and it just depended on how I felt on any given day.

"There were still two riders on the other team and we had my teammate Barguil, so a stage win was kind of guaranteed.

Quintana said that Arkea Samsic looked like a great chance to win, but it proved impossible as the GC battle was red hot.

"I knew Vingegaard and (Tadei) Pogachar were stronger, so I kept going at my pace as long as I could. I was a few seconds, in some cases a few minutes ahead of the guys behind me."

Quintana acknowledged the possibility of a podium finish, but added that Alpe d'Huez "is another big mountain stage and the race will be very dramatic. Hopefully we can handle it well."

Quintana offered a general observation about Pogachar's unexpected loss in Granon." Everyone has their day.

Alpe d'Huez is a very important place for Colombian cycling, as it is where Luis 'Lucho' Herrera won Colombia's first Tour de France in 1984. For a cyclist like Quintana, that historical detail is sure to motivate him on one of the sport's most legendary climbs, the Alpe d'Huez.