Michał Kwiatkowski proved once again today that riding in difficult weather conditions or recovery during the final days of mountainous stage races are not exactly his greatest strengths, as the young Pole lost contact with a leading group and finished over thirty minutes down to the Tour de Romandie new leader, Simon Spilak (Katusha). Nonetheless, Christopher Froome, who in the same time places himself in a perfect position to defend his 2013 title in the Swiss event, was full of praise for the 23-year old Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider and expects him to be a strong contender for a top five result in the Tour de France 101st edition.

Even though he is known as a decent time trialist, Kwiatkowski did unexpectedly well in the Tour de Romandie short opening prologue to take both the victory and leader’s jersey. Froome was full of praise for an exceptional versatility of the young Pole as well as his thoughtful riding as a race leader during the last two days spent in the yellow.

“He can target a top 5,” Froome told L’Équipe.

“He showed that when he had a jersey, it was hard to take him. Repeated efforts over three weeks can pose a problem, but he is only very young. I have a lot of respect for him.”

The 23-year old Polish national champion rode surprisingly well during the first two weeks of last year’s Tour de France 100th edition, but faded in its decisive stages to eventually finish 11th, narrowly missing the final top ten and victory in the young rider classification, lost to Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp).

Undoubtedly, Kwiatkowski came of age this season, being one of the most successful riders of last several months, but possibility of making further improvement in Tour’s general classification will be under a question as long as the 23-year old Pole badly suffers in bed weather conditions and struggles to recover following a block of more demanding hilly stages.

Still, Team Sky sports director Nicolas Portal agreed with Froome’s opinion, claiming that Kwiatkowski will be one to watch attentively in July.

“He is really complete (as a rider). He can climb, he rides very strong and he even has a bit of speed,” he explained. “If Omega decided to build his team around Cav, he's so strong and intelligent and he can fend for himself, using the work of others. In any case, we will have to monitor him.”