Still missing on a victory this season, Vincenzo Nibali gave it another try yesterday during the queen stage of the Tour de Romandie, but quickly faded unable to respond when Christopher Froome (Team Sky) counter-attacked. After the race, Sicilian-born Astana leader admitted that he overestimated his own condition on that day and hasn’t expected Tour de France champion to be so strong just yet.

Nibali launched his trademark solo attack on the final climb of the Tour de Romandie queen stage with over 25 kilometers to go, but was quickly passed by Froome and Simon Spilak (Katusha) as he realized not to have enough legs to follow the escaping duo.

The Astana leader finished the stage seventh, losing almost a minute to Spilak and Froome, and admitted that even though he overestimated his own strength, it was an important indication on where he and the Kazakh team should place themselves ahead of their most important test of the season coming in July.

“I wanted to give it a try, but quickly realized that it wasn’t my best day. I faced a lot of questions about me and the team. I think a clear answer just has been given,” Nibali told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I tried, but I quickly realized that I couldn’t follow Chris. Perhaps my attempt was a result of a wrong assessment and most likely it was a mistake, as I haven’t been thinking he would be so strong,” Sicilian rider admitted.

“On the climb, it was a pure men’s fight without any calculations in regards to the general classification. In the descent I wasn’t able to make a real difference and, in fact, the gap remained unchanged. Everyone had a final sprint in mind.”