Froome thrilled with 'perfect' build-up to Giro
He finished fourth in the Tour of the Alps but Chris Froome described his preparations for the Giro d'Italia as "perfect".
Chris Froome believes his performance at the Tour of the Alps was the "perfect build-up" to the Giro d'Italia.
Froome, who won the Tour de France for a fourth time in 2017 before then claiming the Vuelta a Espana red jersey, is aiming to become only the seventh rider to win all three Grand Tours when the Giro gets underway on May 4.
The Briton will contest the Giro under increased scrutiny after a drugs test supplied during his Vuelta triumph that showed twice the permitted level of salbutamol.
Froome has maintained his innocence following the findings, and is free to race while the UCI investigation is ongoing.
He finished fourth in the Tour of the Alps on Friday behind Thibaut Pinot, Domenico Pozzovivo and Miguel Angel Lopez.
Despite the increased controversy surrounding him, Froome has been very satisfied with how his preparations for the first Grand Tour of 2018 have gone.
"I don't think that we can read too much into it. Everyone has different approaches to the Giro," Froome said of his Tour of the Alps result.
"Some guys probably wouldn't have been 100 per cent in this race and will probably be going a lot better at the Giro but for sure there are somethings you can't mistake.
"Thibaut is in great shape, Pozzovivo is in great shape in the climbs as well. Fabio Aru is not far off. Miguel Angel Lopez from Astana is looking great. It's a little bit of a taste of what's to come in May.
"I've been having a lot of fun these last few days just racing, proper bike racing. They have been short and explosive stages but this isn't the kind of thing that you can replicate in training, these kinds of races.
"It has been really good to be here and to have been a part of it.
"I'm definitely a lot closer to being ready for the Giro than I was a month ago at Tirreno-Adriatico. I'm really happy with the sensations now and I've still got two weeks now. It's been pretty much a perfect build-up to the Giro d'Italia."