Quintana wins Catalonia Tour

Sagan tops Gent-Wevelgem classic

BARCELONA, Spain, March 27, (AP): Nairo Quintana of Colombia held on to his lead over Alberto Contador to win the Tour of Catalonia for the first time on Sunday.

Quintana successfully defended his seven-second advantage over the Spaniard in Sunday’s final stage, an eight-lap ride over 136.4 kilometers (84.7 miles) up and down the Montjuic hill overlooking Barcelona.

Russian rider Aleksei Tsatevich won the seventh stage in a sprint with Primoz Roglic of Slovenia.

Movistar rider Quintana stayed close to Contador from the start on Sunday

Movistar’s Colombian rider Nairo Quintana holds a trophy as he celebrates his jersey of overall leader on the podium of the Fifth Stage of the 96th Volta Catalunya 2016, a 187,2 km ride from Rialp to Valls, in Baga on

March 25. (AFP)

and his lead was never in jeopardy. He finished with the same seven-second gap he carried into the closing stage, becoming the third Colombian to win the race after Hernan Buenahora in 1998 and Alvaro Mejia in 1993.

Frenchman Thibaut Pinot won the Criterium International after claiming the final stage of the two-day race in Corsica featuring an uphill finish on Sunday.

Pinot built his success on Saturday’s individual time trial around Porto-Vecchio when he posted his first win this season to capture the leader’s yellow jersey.