Chris Froome put in a great climbing performance in today's queen stage of the Tour de Romandie but also had the rare experience of getting reeled in by another rider when Simon Spilak (Katusha) shut down his solo move. However, Sky sports director Servais Knaven claims that the Brit waited for the Slovenian and is very pleased with the position his race leader finds himself in.

Chris Froome moved to within striking distance of the race lead after a virtuoso climbing performance at the Tour de Romandie.

The Brit worked alongside Simon Spilak on stage three to put a minute into his rivals on the road into Aigle before being narrowly edged out by half a wheel in the sprint.

A gutsy 25-kilometre long-range move from Froome was sparked by an attack from Vincenzo Nibali on the final first-category climb to Villars-sur-Ollon. The Team Sky rider quickly shut down the Italian before driving onwards, leaving behind a select group of contenders in his wake on the wet ascent.

Spilak (Katusha) was the only rider able to follow the defending champion, and in a mirror image of last year’s queen stage the pair rode together, putting 57 seconds into the chasers after a rapid descent into the finish.

Froome looked to contest the sprint, inching alongside Spilak at the line to just fall short. Bonus seconds elevated the Slovenian into the race lead by a single second with two stages to go, including the decisive final time trial.

Heading towards the final climb Froome had the support of Mikel Nieve and David Lopez as the pair covered moves and ensured the pace remained high after a hefty 180.2km of racing in grim conditions. Team Sky had took up the pace-setting early to keep the race together and ensure their leader was well-positioned in what was an impressive team performance.

After the stage Sports Director Servais Knaven was understandably a happy man.

“It was a really strong performance from Froomey today," he said. "It was great to see and naturally everyone is really happy. The team rode very well.

“The moment to go was earlier than we thought it would be but when Nibali attacks there’s only one thing you can do and that’s follow it. Then obviously Froomey kept on riding and dropped everybody which was really impressive.

“Spilak was going well and Froomey waited a bit so they could ride together. He has the jersey now so Katusha are likely to defend the lead. They are traditionally a team which defends the jersey.

“It’s a pity not to get the stage win but the most important thing today was to take time on as many people as possible. Now we’re in a really good position for the time trial but first we need to get through tomorrow. That’s not going to be an easy day.”