Chris Froome (Sky) managed to defend his lead in today's second stage of the Tour de Romandie but he came under attack from a number of his GC rivals on the final climb. The Brit admitted that it had been a hard stage but he expected that his competitors had had a similar experience.

As it has been a case in most stage races the last 18 months it was a case of firm Sky control throughout most of today's second stage of the Tour de Romandie as the team set out to defend Chris Froome's overall lead. Peter Kennaugh and Chris Sutton were at the front of the peloton as they kept control of an early 3-man break.

With the early escape caught the race heated up on the day's final climb whose top was located just 17,3km from the finish and as the ascent was much tougher than most expected Sky was put under pressure from GC rivals like Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Robert Gesink (Blanco) and Steve Morabito (BMC).

With most of his domestiques dropped Froome only had David Lopez and Richie Porte to assist him and he had to use the Australian who was 4th overall to close down the dangerous escape. Despite the danger Froome managed to keep his jersey as he finished safely in the reduced bunch at the end of the stage.

Afterwards he admitted that the last climb had been a hard one.

“Today it was quite a straightforward stage for me just following my team-mates," he said. "They did all the work and I was able to stay on their wheel all day. I definitely felt the pressure on the last climb but I would hope everyone felt the pressure."

Sports director Servais Knaven was impressed by the strong teamwork that had made it possible for Froome to keep his lead despite the numerous attacks and he admitted that he had been surprised by the difficulty of the final climb.

“The final was really hard but the peloton also raced the first 30km full-on until three riders broke away," he said. "After that it was relatively easy to control and many riders were still fresh heading onto the final climb. They started attacking and it became tricky heading into the final. The climb was probably a little bit harder than everyone expected. Sometimes you can’t always rely on the roadbook. The climbs are never easy in Switzerland."

“The guys did a good job today," he continued." Pete (Kennaugh, ed.) and CJ (Sutton, ed.) did a good job riding on the front until the last 25km. Kiri (Vasil Kiriyenka, ed.) also rode really well controlling things at the start to make sure the right break went away. That’s very often the hardest part of the race."

The final attacks from the GC riders always had little chance to succeed but the intention could very well be to tire out the Sky team ahead of Saturday's queen stage. Knaven knows that the Sky team's recent dominance means that their rivals will do everything to put the squad under pressure in an attempt to isolate Froome in the race's hardest challenge.

“Of course our rivals tried everything to make it hard for us," he said. "They know we have a strong team and I’d probably do the same thing if I was racing against us. It wasn’t unexpected and we certainly prepared for attacks. It was a good day to try it but that’s bike racing. You don’t get anything for free and that will be the same tomorrow.”

Tomorrow's stage is very similar to today's and once again the Sky team can expect to be put under pressure on a pair of climbs in the final part of the race. Starting at 16.00 you can follow all the action on CyclingQuotes.com/live.