Giro dell'Emilia
In 2012, Quintana moved to Europe to join the Spanish . He won the overall classification in the Vuelta a Murcia. Later, he took a prestigious victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné, when he sparked a counter-attack after a select group of riders including leader Bradley Wiggins reached the last escapee of the day. He held on to his solo lead in the descent leading to Morzine. After winning that stage, he later ended up winning the Route du Sud that year. Quintana made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España, where he was one of Alejandro Valverde's key climbing domestiques as Valverde finished second overall. Quintana finished 36th overall. In October, Quintana won the Giro dell'Emilia.