Chris Froome wins Tour de France warm-up race then warns rivals: I’m still not at my best
Team Sky ace beats Alberto Contador and Richie Porte to Criterium du Dauphine title
CHRIS FROOME stormed to victory at Criterium du Dauphine, before warning his rivals: I'm still not at my best.
The Team Sky ace stormed to victory over the eight-stage race in France, the traditional dress rehearsal for the Tour de France.
He beat Frenchman Romain Bardet into second by 12sec with Ireland's Dan Martin 19sec back.
Alberto Contador, who had been in the race-leader's yellow jersey earlier on in the event, finished fifth, 35sec back from the Kenya-born Brit.
It all bodes well for the Tour de France, starting at Le-Mont-Saint-Michel on July 2.
Froome said: "I'm not at my best yet. I hope to reach that for the start of the Tour de France. I'm coming into it a little bit fresher and I'm hoping that will bring me into the third week of the race in better shape.
"But I can't say if that's going to happen or not. Wait and see, but the third week of this week's Tour is going to be extremely hard."
Froome is right to be wary: Last season he faded during the final week of the 21-stage Tour de France.
He had been laid low with illness, but it was a stressful final seven days' racing with Colombian rival Nairo Quintana breathing down his neck.
This year, Froome is hoping to get into Tour de France with fresh legs to last him through the three week race and into the Olympic road race on August 6.
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But a victory at the Dauphine is usually a perfect indicator of that form, with the 31-year-old taking a lot of confidence from beating rival Contador and others.
Froome added: "The race is incredibly important to me in its own right but I think if we can take anything away from this week it's not to be complacent.
"This is a great victory but we're going to have to work really hard now before July to make sure we're in the right kind of shape for the Tour de France.
"The last two or three days have been flat out but it didn't stop the other riders from attacking today.
"My biggest rivals put us under a lot of pressure and it came down to the final climb."
The final stage of the Dauphine was won by former Team Sky reject Steve Cummings.
The Merseysider, who won a thrilling stage at last year's Tour de France, made a break in the the final 50km for an impressive solo win.
Dimension Data ace Cummings, 35, said: "This is the day I picked out before the race.
"I was just thinking that going into the break was good training for the Tour de France.
"But I also knew there wouldn't be many riders left and that the favourites would watch each other."