Chris Froome (Sky) showed that he is back to his best after illness and injury when he won today's final time trial of the Tour de Romandie and defended his overall victory in the race. The wins came as a big relief for the Brit who was happy to put both a chest infection and back problems behind him.

 

Chris Froome laid down a winning final time trial to claim overall victory at the Tour de Romandie.

 

The Team Sky rider headed into the decisive 18.5-kilometre test just a single second behind overnight leader Simon Spilak and the pair battled it out on the roads around Neuchatel, with Froome comfortably claiming the upper hand.

 

A time of 24 minutes and 50 seconds was enough to take victory on the stage by a slender margin of just under a second from world time trial champion Tony Martin.

 

Coming home 29 seconds ahead of Spilak (Katusha), overall victory was assured, and with it Team Sky’s third yellow jersey in succession at the race following the success of Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Froome in 2013.

 

The win arrived in a contrasting manner for Froome, who led from the outset last season following victory in the prologue. This time around a consistent start laid the foundations for a stinging attack on stage three, which saw only Spilak able to follow as the pair put close to a minute into their rivals.

 

Spilak held on for second overall, while Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) rounded out the final podium after six days, 1:32 back on a victorious Froome.

 

After the stage a happy Froome admitted it had been a tough fight from start to finish to defend his title.

 

“It was extremely hard and a really tough circuit, but the climb was good for me in the time trial today," he explained. "With one second to try and gain on Simon Spilak, it was really difficult because he was really strong two days ago in the mountains and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen today.

 

“It was a really good test for me and I am just really happy to have got the result and be back in a yellow jersey again. It’s a really good feeling."

 

The result was all the sweeter for Froome given that he has been short on racing recently through a combination of illness and injury.

 

“This has been a really hard period for me recently," he added. "I have had a chest infection and I have had problems with my back this season, so it hasn’t been very easy. I have worked really hard to get back to this kind of condition. I just hope that I can continue to build towards the Tour de France.

 

“This year was a bit of a different race. We didn’t have any hilltop finishes, so it did make the race a bit different, but I am really happy to have been able to defend the title."

 

A tense battle was guaranteed as the 2010 winner faced off again the 2013 victor but Froome showed no sign of cracking as he went quickest at the top of the climb at the intermediate sprint.

 

Earlier Martin (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) had torn through the field to set the benchmark time, with Jesse Sergent (Trek Factory Racing) getting closest seven seconds back.

 

The wins was the culmination of a strong team effort, with Nathan Earle, David López, Mikel Nieve, Richie Porte, Luke Rowe, Chris Sutton and Xabier Zandio coming together to ensure their leader was positioned and protected.

 

After the stage Sports Director Servais Knaven was happy to oversee his second Romandie success, and admitted the close finish had been nail-biting as Froome edged out the stage win.

 

"It was really close for the stage win with Tony but sometimes a few tenths is all you need," he said. "It was a great performance.

 

"Last year we began with an uphill prologue so Froomey had the jersey from day one and we defended it. This year was a bit different. For the team it was a bit easier but we knew Froomey had to take time. There were times when we didn’t have the jersey but we had to race like we did. The guys did a great job.

 

"It gives a good boost to the whole team, especially for Froomey after his injury. He’s come back and seen that he can win again. It’s a really important step towards the next races. He’s still building towards the Tour. Hopefully he’ll be a bit better next month and then come out even better still for the Tour. That’s the plan and I think he is right on schedule."