World champion continues dominance of 2013 TTs; Froome follows in teammate Wiggins’ footsteps
Chris Froome (Team Sky) followed in the footsteps of teammate Bradley Wiggins as he wrapped up overall victory in the 2013 Tour de Romandie in the final time trial in the city of Geneva. The Kenyan-born Briton - who led the race from start to finish after his victory in the opening uphill prologue - was prevented from topping and tailing the race, however, as the stage was taken by World time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), who continued his dominance of long stages against the clock in the 2013 season.
"I came to Tour de Romandie to try to make a good result in the GC, but maybe it was a bit of a mistake to attack yesterday in the mountain stage," Martin said afterwards. "I lost my chance to be in the top 10, so I focused on today's TT.
“I knew the parcours was perfect for me today,” he added. “The course was not complicated. It was totally flat, so I was able to give 100 percent right from the start because there was no mountain or any technical parts that can make a big difference. So you have to keep a steady, good speed from the beginning and I did that. I am happy with my win today."
Martin completed the predominantly flat 18.7km course, around the shores of Lake Geneva, in a time of 21 minutes and eight seconds, to finish 16 seconds quicker than second place Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida). Froome finished third, 34 seconds behind the World champion but, more importantly, was seven seconds quicker than nearest overall rival Simon Spilak (Katusha) to confirm his overall victory.
Spilak ended the race just 54 seconds behind Froome, in second place, with Portuguese Rui Costa just managing to hold off the challenge from American Tom Danielson (Garmin-Sharp) in the fight for third.
“It has been a really good week for us I am really happy with my condition now in the build-up to the Tour de France,” said race winner Froome. “This week I couldn’t have done it without the help of a really strong team around me. Every day since the prologue, they have protected me and kept me at the front of the race. I owe it to them this week.”
The victory is a great omen for Froome, as the last two winners in Romandie - Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) and Wiggins - have gone on to win the Tour de France, which is his main target of the season. The 27-year-old had already won the Tour of Oman, and Critérium International so far in 2013, as well as finishing second in Tirreno-Adriatico.
“Every race I do now is a good test for me, to see exactly where my condition is and what I need to work on. It has been a really good experience for me this week,” Froome added. “It is definitely a good omen, but the Tour is still two months away and I need to do a lot of hard training before then.”
Result stage 5
1. Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step, 18.7km in 21’07”
2. Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida @ 16s
3. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky @ 34s
4. Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM @ 36s
5. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha Team @ 41s
6. Stef Clément (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling @ 50s
7. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky @ 52s
8. Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff @ 55s
9. Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp @ 56s
10. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Argos-Shimano @ 1’01”
Final overall standings
1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
2. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha Team @ 54s
3. Rui Costa (Por) Movistar Team @ 1’49”
4. Tom Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp @ 1’54”
5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling @ 2’03”
6. Jean-Christophe Péraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale @ 2’14”
7. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto-Belisol @ 2’16”
8. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky @ 2’31”
9. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team @ 2’32”
10. Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling @ 2’41”