Nairo Quintana may not have succeeded in cutting Chris Froome's Tour de France lead on stage 17, but the Movistar rider will not give up his pursuit of the yellow jersey.
With three racing stages remaining before the procession into Paris on Sunday, Quintana still trails the Team Sky rider by over three minutes, his efforts on the Col d'Allos failing to trouble the leader.
The Colombian " along with team-mate Alejandro Valverde and Astana's Vincenzo Nibali " looked to apply pressure on Froome on Wednesday on the final category one climb, but the Briton kept coming back and crossed with the same time as Quintana to maintain his advantage.
"Today I was almost at 100 per cent," said Quintana. "I didn't manage to dethrone Froome, but now there'll be stages that suit me even better.
"Climbs will be longer and harder. I'll have to attack from further out.
"We'll keep attacking. Our team is very strong. Our goal remains the yellow jersey."
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Meanwhile, Froome was pleased to have ticked off another step in his quest for a second Tour title and knows he can play it safe while his rivals must try something if they want to deny him victory on the Champs-Elysees.
He said: "It's a good day for us. I wouldn't say my rivals are desperate but I can see they take more risks.
"I was surprised to see Quintana and Valverde attacking after 50km and [Alberto] Contador with 100 kilometres to go. It would have been a very long effort, had he stayed away.
"I have the feeling that their tactic is all or nothing. It gives me a taste of what I can expect in the next three days.
"They'll attack me more and more, especially Contador after he crashed today. But they're running out of opportunities and I feel pretty good at the moment."