Chris Froome rounded off the Tour de Suisse with ninth-placed finish for Team Sky on the final time trial stage.
Leipheimer emerges triumphant after gripping finale
Chris Froome rounded off the Tour de Suisse with ninth-placed finish for Team Sky on the final time trial stage, but it was Levi Leipheimer who was celebrating the overall victory after the race reached a dramatic conclusion in Schaffhausen.
Froome had been looking to deliver a strong display on the ninth day of action, and did just that by clocking a time of 42 minutes and three seconds on the undulating 32.1km course.
That was the fourth-best result at the time, and only a further five riders would go faster before the day was out. Yet again it was Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) who dominated proceedings, and the four-time world time trial champion took the stage victory with a nine-second advantage over RadioShack’s Andreas Kloden.
Leipheimer’s third-placed finish was the one which proved most decisive though, as it was 2min 3sec faster than overnight leader Damiano Cunego (Lampre), which ensured the American topped the general classification with a mere four-second margin over his Italian rival.
Steven Kruijswijk (Rabobank) meanwhile, clung on for third place overall, while Peter Sagen (Liquigas) and Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) wrapped up the points and mountains classifications respectively.
De Jongh sees potential
After the stage Sports Director Steven de Jongh praised Froome’s efforts and admitted he has a bright future ahead of him.
He said: “Chris produced an excellent ride today. There was a lot of wind out there but to end up just 62 seconds down on Cancellara on a stage of that length is no mean feat at all.
“Ian [Stannard] also deserves a mention because he finished 16th today. Marcus [Ljungqvist] was following him in the second car and was really impressed with what he saw.
“In terms of the GC, Leipheimer was always going to be in the mix today, and so it proved. It’s too bad for Cunego because all eyes were on him on that final ride of the day and he couldn’t quite deliver. I think he was the best climber throughout this race but unfortunately his time trial just let him down again.
“As for the race as a whole, it was disappointing that we couldn’t get a stage win but the sprints were just too difficult in the end. With Michael Rogers being forced to pull out, we didn’t have anyone here who could really challenge the GC, but Froomey proved he has got a lot of potential for the future.
“He still has good and bad days, but he’s learnt a lot this week about his capabilities. He needs to work on his consistency now, and if he is able to improve that he could become a great GC rider because he certainly has a good TT in him.”
