Chris Froome (Team Sky)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Sky) countered Nibali's move and was joined off the front by Simon Špilak (Katusha(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome (Sky) was out-sprinted by Spilak(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Chris Froome (Team Sky) set up overall victory and proved a point to his Tour de France rivals with an aggressive but calculated ride on the key mountain stage of the Tour de Romandie.
Froome is now just one second behind race leader Simon Spilak (Katusha) after breaking away with the Slovenian rider on the mountain stage to Aigle but knows he can take overall victory in Sunday's decisive 18.5km time trial around Neuchatel.
The Team Sky leader lost a close sprint to Spilak but landed a knock-out blow on his rivals, finishing 57 seconds ahead of Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida), with other stage race riders even further back.
Nibali had hoped to dominate the stage, attacking alone on the final climb in the rain and cold but Froome responded, passed the Italy and then carved out his lead in the company of Spilak.
Following his early season setbacks and injuries, including missing Liege-Bastogne-Liege due to a mild chest infection, Froome showed he still riding well and on course to be at his best for the Tour de France.
"It was a good test," Froome told Gazzetta dello Sport, explaining his race tactics.
"I knew that the climb eased before the King of the Mountain sprint and so I attacked on the hardest part. Before Lopez and Nieve did a fantastic job."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Froome and Spilak sprinted shoulder to shoulder for the stage victory but Froome lost by a few inches.
"I wanted to win the stage but sprinting isn’t my forte. But now I'll try to win the race," Froome said.
Froome caught and past his Tour de France rival Vincenzo Nibali on the climb, dropping him with an out of the saddle effort that cracked the Italian. It was also a psychological blow for the Italian, who was angry at the finish.
"How do I think Nibali looked? It was a good test for him. He's here to get some answers, like me," Froome said, knowing he had found the answers he was looking for.
Team Sky directeur sportif Servais Knaven was happy to see Froome on form.
“It was a really strong performance from Froomey. It was great to see and naturally everyone is really happy. The team rode very well," he told the Team Sky website.
“The moment to go was earlier than we thought it would be but when Nibali attacks there’s only one thing you can do and that’s follow it. Then obviously Froomey kept on riding and dropped everybody which was really impressive."
“Spilak was going well and Froomey waited a bit so they could ride together. He has the jersey now so Katusha are likely to defend the lead. They are traditionally a team which defends the jersey. It’s a pity not to get the stage win but the most important thing today was to take time on as many people as possible. Now we’re in a really good position for the time trial but first we need to get through tomorrow (Saturday). That’s not going to be an easy day.”
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
