Standing outside the Team Sky bus as the snowflakes curled down on Sierra Nevada behind him, Sky team coach Tim Kerrison described Chris Froome’s second place behind Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) on the dramatically difficult Hazallanas climb as “a fair reflection of the current state of play.”
“We knew it was going to be a hard fought stage, and Chris is very happy he’s come to this race after doing Oman for the last couple of years,” Kerrison told a small group of reporters as the Sky riders wheeled past and either opted for a warm down on the rollers or headed directly for the warmth of the team bus. “He feels it’s a better race for him at this time of year and exactly what he needs.
“He’s done a great block of training in South Africa for the last three weeks or so, but he’s got a lot more to come. He feels that Alberto’s getting ready for the Giro, whilst Chris’s sights are set a little bit further down the line in July.”
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Kerrison pointed out that it was key that Froome “didn’t over-react to the early move by Contador” - attacking seven kilometres from the summit. “He rode his own pace, clawed his way back through the group and managed to close some time, not all the time, on Alberto. Overall we’re happy and we feel it’s very useful feedback.”
Having Contador as a reference point is a very useful one so early in the season, Kerrison recognised, “because if he wasn’t here and Chris had won that stage by a minute 20 over the rider who was third, [Romain] Bardet (AG2R), then I think that possibly would have given us all a false sense of security.
“So to come here, get some very honest feedback, where he is and where Alberto is, and where he needs to go, it really gives us a lot of motivation to keep working hard and focussing on working for the Tour.”
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