Froome motivated by progress at Tour of the Alps: "It shows that the workouts I do are paying off"

Chris Froome has concluded his second race of the season at the Tour of the Alps, and in his preparation for the season he has reported good sensations in the mountains that have marked the race.

In an interview with Wielerflits, Froome has talked about his most recent progress: “My body has fully recovered after that heavy fall. Now it's all about the hard work, increasing the power, getting the weight down to boost form. But I still have to take steps for that," he said.

“The legs are moving in the right direction. But more importantly, we notice that there is progress. And in the last month I can say that I feel I have taken a step. And that's something I can build on," Froome added. After a delayed start to the season due to a knee injury, the Briton has returned to competition at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, and has remained competing in Italy this week at the Tour of the Alps.

He stressed that "now it's all about the work, increasing the power, getting the weight down. Actually the same story as before: working towards the right form. And that is a great relief.”

He has reported good feelings this week at the Tour of the Alps: “From the Coppi e Bartali to now I have seen a good progression. This week I was still there at a certain point when there were still 25 or 30 men left from the pack in the climbs. I hadn't had that feeling for a long time and it shows that the workouts I do are paying off. Not to mention that I had a different preparation than many competitors. I only have the Coppi e Bartali here, others Paris-Nice, the Tirreno or Catalunya."

A crash in the fourth stage of the race saw a setback, which then played a role in him finishing out of the time limit in the final rainy day where Thibaut Pinot won his first stage in several years. Nevertheless, he is not concerned regarding it, as he eyes the Tour de Romandie as the final race of his spring: "After that slow run-up, I'm aiming for an active summer and want to keep racing until late in the season," he concludes, pointing towards his big goals of the season which will come later in the year.