Froome prepares final push in ‘brutal’ Giro

BRITISH pre-race favourite ourite Chris Froome on Monday said he was ready to fight until the finish line ne to make up lost time in the final week k of the Giro d’Italia.

“It’s been a brutal race, , but it’s also been a beautiful race,” ace,” said Froome, who suffered ed two falls in the race which h s t a r t e d i n Je r us a l e m before a stunning stage e win on Saturday on the e summit of the imposing g Monte Zoncolan.

“This is bike racing at its best and it’s what people want to see. Real edge-of- the-seat stuff and unpreredictable racing too.”

Four-time Tour de France rance champion Froome slipped d from fifth to seventh place after r trail- ing home in 17th o on Sunday in the Dolomites.

He is trailing pin pink jersey wearer Simon Yates of Britain Brit by nearly five minutes going in into the final week with the race finis finishing in Rome on Sunday.

The 33-yea 33-year-old said defending Giro champion Tom Dumouli Dumoulin of the Netherlands w would be the man to bea beat 34.2 kilometre time time-trial at Rovereto in T Trentino, northern Italy in Tuesday.

“I “If I gain anything on T Tom Dumoulin I’ll be ve very happy. He’s the world champion timetrial triallist – I don’t expect to g gain anything on him him, but let’s see,” Froome said on the Giro’s final rest day on Monday.

Froome took third place in the timetrial at the 2017 world championships shortly after learning of his adverse doping test at the Vuelta a Espana which he won, an affair which is still pending. “I’m going to give it everything I’ve got and I’m certainly not going to expect anything [to be easy].

“[The gap] is big, especially the way Simon has been riding – he hasn’t shown one moment of weakness so far and only seems to be getting stronger.

“I’m not going to give up.”

France’s Thibaut Pinot – fourth overall and 2min 37sec behind Yates – said he was pushing for a podium place after finishing fourth last year.

“The level this year is higher,” he said. “Certain riders are stronger like [Domenico] Pozzovivo. Yates is much stronger than [Nairo] Quintana last year in the mountains.

“I would have preferred to do better – sixth at Zoncolan and yesterday wasn’t sufficient. For the moment [ Yates is] really untouchable, but we know that the Giro is a race unlike others, there have been reversals in recent years. Until Saturday evening there is always hope.”

And he believes that Froome (pictured, AFP) can never be ruled out.

“When you see him gaining strength on Zoncolan, you say that he’ll continue the next day. We were a little surprised. We don’t really know what to think about it. He can be capable of the best as well as the worst.

“There are two big steps left. If he makes two big days like in Zoncolan, he can return in the race to the podium. It’s always better to have time back on him.”