Chris Froome moved to within striking distance of the race lead after a virtuoso climbing performance at the Tour de Romandie.
Brit a single second off yellow in Aigle
Chris Froome moved to within striking distance of the race lead after a virtuoso climbing performance at the Tour de Romandie.
The Brit worked alongside Simon Spilak on stage three to put a minute into his rivals on the road into Aigle before being narrowly edged out by half a wheel in the sprint.
A gutsy 25-kilometre long-range move from Froome was sparked by an attack from Vincenzo Nibali on the final first-category climb to Villars-sur-Ollon. The Team Sky rider quickly shut down the Italian before driving onwards, leaving behind a select group of contenders in his wake on the wet ascent.
Spilak (Katusha) was the only rider able to follow the defending champion, and in a mirror image of last year’s queen stage the pair rode together, putting 57 seconds into the chasers after a rapid descent into the finish.
Froome looked to contest the sprint, inching alongside Spilak at the line to just fall short. Bonus seconds elevated the Slovenian into the race lead by a single second with two stages to go, including the decisive final time trial.
Heading towards the final climb Froome had the support of Mikel Nieve and David Lopez as the pair covered moves and ensured the pace remained high after a hefty 180.2km of racing in grim conditions. Team Sky had took up the pace-setting early to keep the race together and ensure their leader was well-positioned in what was an impressive team performance.
Queen stage
After the stage Sports Director Servais Knaven was understandably a happy man as he talked us through the key test.
“It was a really strong performance from Froomey today," he said. "It was great to see and naturally everyone is really happy. The team rode very well.
“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. That’s not going to be an easy day.”
Difficult conditions
A blanket of wet weather arrived ahead of the queen stage and the four significant climbs which greeted the peloton.
Eight riders set out in the break but its numbers quickly began to dwindle as the race hit the first climb in the shape of the Col des Planches. The tough ramps saw race leader Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) dropped from the bunch early on, while Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) also fell into difficulties and was finally dislodged from the group on the way up to Les Giettes.
Heading into the final 60km Europcar team-mates David Malacarne and Cyril Gautier were the only representatives of the break left out front, but in behind the race had blown apart with only a group of 20 riders left in the equation.
Nibali (Astana) was the first to blink and attacked, only for Froome to shut down the move and accelerate, riding the Italian off his wheel in the process.
By the time Spilak bridged across the pair had clear daylight and went on to carve out an advantage of 55 seconds over the final summit, a margin they would more than maintain into the finish.
