Chris Froome may not have won the Tour of the Alps, but he insists that he is still on track for the Giro d'Italia after five days of "perfect" preparation in northern Italy and Austria.
Instead of going on the attack to try and win the race, Froome found himself trying to chase back on after an attack by overall leader and eventual GC winner Thibaut Pinot pulled Domenico Pozzovivo and Miguel Angel Lopez clear.
In the end that group came back on the flat run-in to Innsbruck as Mark Padun snuck away to win the stage, but for Froome the final result was less than the hard training he has enjoyed over the last few days as he targets the Giro, which starts in Jerusalem on May 4.
>>> Thibaut Pinot wins Tour of the Alps overall as Mark Padun claims final stage
"I think the last five days have been perfect build up for the Giro," Froome told journalists outside the team bus after the stage.
"I think I’m definitely a lot closer to being ready for the Giro than I was a month ago at Tirreno-Adriatico so I’m really happy with the sensations now and I’ve still got two weeks to go."
Having come to the Tour of the Alps off the back of a period of tough altitude training in Tenerife, Froome will now return home to Monaco to put the final touches to his Giro form before travelling to Israel for the Grande Partenza at the start of May.
The 32-year-old had been expected to go into the race to face a tough challenge from defending champion Tom Dumoulin, but given the excellent showing from the likes of Pinot, Pozzovivo, and Lopez at the Tour of the Alps, the Giro now looks to be much more open than it was a few days ago.
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However for Froome, the only things that requires concentration is his own condition and he wasn't going to make any Giro predictions based on results at the Tour of the Alps.
"I don’t think we can read too much into the last few days," Froome continued. "Everyone’s different in their approach to the Giro and some guys probably wouldn’t have been at 100 per cent in this race but they will probably be a lot better at the Giro.
"For sure there are some things that you can’t miss. Thibaut is in great shape, Pozzovivo is in great shape on the climbs as well, Fabio Aru is not far off, and Superman [Miguel Angel Lopez] is looking great. It’s been a nice little taste of what is to come in May."
