Friday 20 February 2015 17:34, UK
Chris Froome was happy with his performance on stage three of the Ruta del Sol in Spain, despite being comfortably beaten by arch rival Alberto Contador.
Froome crossed the line at the summit finish on Alto de Hazallanas 19 seconds behind the Spaniard, who had moved into a solo lead with around 7.5km remaining.
Although the result elevated Froome up to second place in the general classification, his overall deficit to Contador has stretched to 27 seconds.
However, he told teamsky.com: “I’m really happy with how it went. Obviously, it’s hard getting beaten and hard coming second to Alberto. I know for the work I have done coming in I’m really happy that I was up there today. All the hard training this winter is paying off now.
“The legs feel good. I haven’t done much intensity training but I have set up a really good foundation and I think riding like this is proof of that.”
While Froome is building towards July’s Tour de France, Contador is targeting May’s Giro d’Italia, and the Briton said it was therefore not a surprise to be off the pace.
“My objective is to be really good later on in the season, building towards the Tour in the next few months,” he added.
“Alberto’s race programme is ahead of mine, with the Giro set to be his first big target of the year. I’m really happy with where I’m at right now. There’s a lot of headway to make but there’s plenty more to come, and this is a great place for me to begin the season.”
