Chris Froome: “I’m not at my best yet”
Chris Froome, with the help of a strong Sky squad, held off multiple attacks from Tinkoff’s Alberto Contador on the penultimate climb of the final stage, securing a third career Criterium du Dauphiné title.
“This race is incredibly important to me in its own right but I think if we can take anything away from this week, it’s not to be complacent. This is a great victory but we’re going to have to work really hard now before July to make sure we’re in the right kind of shape for the Tour de France.”, Froome said after the final stage.
“The last two or three days have been flat out but it didn’t stop the other riders from attacking today. My biggest rivals put us under a lot of pressure and it came down to that final climb.”
“I’m not at my best yet. I hope to reach that for the start of the Tour de France. I’m coming into it a little bit fresher and I’m hoping that will bring me into the third week of the race in better shape. But I can’t say if that’s going to happen or not. Wait and see, but the third week of this year’s Tour is going to be extremely hard.”
“This is the first time, for example, I’ve raced with Mikel Landa, He’s an amazing rider in his own right. This week was really important to work with him on communication and really getting to know each other. Stuff like that doesn’t happen overnight. There are little things that we can work at: it’s a continuous process to work at.”
The next race for Froome will be Le Tour de France, where the British rider will try to win his third yellow jersey.
