After Rafal Majka crashed in the queen stage, Tinkoff-Saxo failed to come away with a top 10 result in the Tour de Romandie but the team was pleased with their performance in the six-day race. With 6 solid race days under their belt, they are convinced that Rafal Majka and Nicolas Roche will make a difference in the Giro d'Italia.

The fifth and final stage of Tour de Romandie today was an 18 kilometer long and hilly individual time trial starting and finishing in the town of Neuchatel, Switzerland. Just like last year’s edition of the race, everyone’s eyes were on Simon Spilak (Katusha) and Chris Froome (Sky).
 
However, the biggest favorite to take the stage win was the TT world champion, Tony Martin (Omega-Pharma Quick Step) and he thundered through the course in the fastest time so far. However, Froome took it all. The big duel between Froome and Spilak was easily won by the Brit who was one second faster than Martin on the top of the single climb on the course and on the finish line as well.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo’s Nicolas Roche finished 37th - 1.31 minutes behind the Sky rider - while teammate Rafal Majka finished 33rd - 1.15 minutes behind.
 
Tinkoff-Saxo DS, Fabrizio Guidi was relaxed and confident after the final stage of the race:
 
“This was our first race after the altitude camp and it was our last test before the Giro," he said. "I have seen a strong group of riders, they are working perfectly together and they’ll be even stronger physically and as a team after this race.

"We entered Romandie with an ambition to hit the top 10 overall but a freak accident put us out of contention. I’m confident that we’ll be able to make a difference in the Giro next week and we’re looking very much forward to it."