After leading the race for six days in a row, Chris Froome lost hold on the yellow jersey in today's queen stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné. Having been unable to follow Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) in the finale, he set his thighs felt the effect from yesterday's crash but remained upbeat after a very strong team performance.

Chris Froome heads into the final day of the Criterium du Dauphine eight seconds behind Alberto Contador after finishing seventh on a tough penultimate stage.

Froome was feeling the effects of the late crash he sustained on Friday and couldn’t follow when Contador attacked inside the last two kilometres on the fearsome Montee de Finhaut-Emosson.

The 2013 Tour de France winner battled valiantly to reduce his losses but crossed the line 20 seconds behind Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), whose fourth-placed finish saw him take control of the yellow jersey.

Lieuwe Westra had taken the stage win in dramatic style by passing Katusha duo Egor Silin and Yuriy Trofimov in the final 100m after a determined late chase. The Astana rider could barely stand after he wrapped his triumph, having opened up a seven-second cushion on Trofimov at the end, with Silin rolling home nine seconds further behind in third.

Froome also cut a tired figure immediately after the finish, but stressed the positives when asked to dissect his day and praised Contdor on a job well done.

He said: “Obviously I’m disappointed to lose the yellow jersey, but in the same breath, I think we can take a lot away from today - it was such a strong team performance.

“I took a bit of a knock yesterday in the crash and lost a bit of energy because of that. I felt a bit blocked through my thighs, especially where I landed yesterday, but I’m not going to let that get me down.

“I think it’s normal that I was a little bit off and Alberto rode a fantastic race, so respect to him. He took the race on when it was at its hardest, and he’s got the jersey to show for it.”

Team Sky had ridden strongly throughout the 160km trek from Ville la Grand, with Danny Pate and Xabier Zandio again working hard to keep a 14-man breakaway in check before the final two hors-categorie climbs.

As the escape group began to splinter on the Col de la Forclaz, Vasil Kiryienka continued to drive a brisk pace on the descent which followed, and big turns from David Lopez, Geraint Thomas and Mikel Nieve on the final climb ensured only nine riders remained in a vastly-reduced peloton when Contador made his move.

Richie Porte buried himself in pursuit before Froome took over 1km from home, but despite his best efforts, he was forced to relinquish his jersey as Contador produced a stinging solo display.

Westra’s victory meanwhile, made up for the frustration he felt after being narrowly pipped to the win by Jan Bakelandts just 24 hours before.

Back on the bus, Froome also took time to praise his team-mates for their efforts, and insists there is still plenty to fight for on the concluding day of action.

He added: “The guys have been on the front for six days now, which has been incredible, and it’s been a good test for us all.

“It was an amazing feeling as team leader to see six of us on the front heading onto that last climb, looking around and seeing the other team leaders on their own. As a team we’re in a really good position.

“It’s been a good week for us, two stage wins, six days and yellow and I’m still top of the points classification. We’ve got some really good things out of this week, even if we don’t end up with the leader’s jersey.

“That said, there’s only eight seconds to make up on the hill-top finish tomorrow and the big thing for me will be to see how my legs are, and how my body is feeling. It’s never over until it’s over.”