Simon Spilak (Katusha) defended his 2nd place in the Tour de Romandie by taking a formidable 4th place in the final time trial today. On a course suited to the specialists the Slovenian was extremely motivated by his win in yesterday's queen stage and he surprised by beating a number of time trial experts on a course suited to the specialists.

Simon Spilak has been one of the most consistent performers in the first part of the 2013 season. All the way back in February he indicated that a something was in store when he finished 4th in the Vuelta a Andalucia and since then he has gone from strength to strength with a 6th place in Paris-Nice, a win the GP Miguel Indurain and a 4th place in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.

After having won yesterday's queen stage he crowned his yearly season by securing the overall 2nd place in the Tour de Romandie. On a completely flat course suited to the pure specialists, the Slovenian exceeded expectations and took a surprising 4th place only 7 seconds behind overall winner Chris Froome (Sky) in what is by far his most impressive time trial performance.

Motivated by yesterday's win the Slovenian set out on the course with the firm objective of keeping his podium place.

“I’m really happy today," he said. "I had strong motivations to get on the final podium and did all possible for it. The course was hard and suitable to powerful riders. In the first sector I kept a good speed, while in the second part I gave my best in order to defend my second place."

With the Tour de Romandie done and dusted Spilak has now finished a highly successful first part of the season. It is now time to enjoy a mid-season break before he starts to build up for his later objectives.

"I think this is a great final of my first part of the season, and I can be really satisfied,” he said

Spilak has not made his race schedule public but is expected to be a key support rider for Joaquin Rodriguez in the Tour de France.