Chris Froome sealed his 6th place in the Volta a Catalunya when he followed his fellow race favourites in yesterday's rain-soaked final stage. The Tour champion got a bit of a scare early in the stage when he hit the deck but luckily he escaped the incident without any major injuries.

Chris Froome rounded off the Volta a Catalunya in sixth position overall after Lieuwe Westra had sealed a fine solo success in Barcelona.

For the second day in succession, Froome kept a close eye on his general classification rivals and followed all the moves that mattered when the action kicked off on the final lap of the day.

David Lopez had instigated the fireworks for Team Sky, and when his attack was nullified on the steepest ramps of the Montjuic climb, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) both countered with Froome in hot pursuit.

Joaquim Rodriguez was also alert to those attacks, and the overall contenders were back together as one as they crossed the finish line in a select group which ensured Rodriguez (Katusha) wrapped up the race win with a four-second cushion over Contador. Van Garderen took the final spot on the podium – three seconds further adrift – with Froome just 17 seconds off the pace.

Prior to all that, Westra (Astana) had claimed a hard-fought stage triumph by forming part of an early 12-man breakaway, and when that move splintered on the concluding laps, he pressed on alone in the last 15km and crossed the line 1min 22sec ahead of the second-placed Marcus Burghardt (BMC (Racing).

The action had taken place under rain-soaked conditions, and the inclement weather forced the finishing circuit to be shortened by 600m to skip the most dangerous sections of road.

Even before the peloton had begun their eight concluding laps, Froome had taken a tumble on the slippery asphalt, but a quick bike change meant he was easily able to make his way back into the pack.

And that was where the 2013 Tour de France winner stayed, covering every move which went in the closing stages before battling over the line in 13th position.

Back in the dryness of the team car, Sports Director Nicolas Portal was pleased to report that Froome had not suffered any major injuries during his fall and

“Froomey’s OK," he told TeamSky.com. "He’s got a small cut to his knee and has lost a bit of skin on his thigh and arm, but nothing that won’t heal in a few days time, or hamper his training.

“He looked really strong at the end there and never looked in any trouble when the attacks came. I thought Alberto [Contador] left it a little bit too late to make his move – if he really wanted to put Rodriguez under pressure he should have made the race tougher earlier on – but that’s easier said than done in the cold and rainy conditions.

“As for David [Lopez], he deserves a special mention because he’s done a really good ride for Froomey all week and even had a little dig on that last climb. We only had five riders on the start line today but they all performed and the spirit has been really good.

“Froomey will definitely have benefitted from this week and it’s got him back into swing of things from a racing point of view. 17 seconds is not a lot at all and if there had been a time trial here he might have even won the race.”