Froome not getting carried away after Dauphine win

By Julien Pretot MODANE VALFREJUS, France (Reuters) - Chris Froome was impressive at the Criterium du Dauphine, which he won on Sunday after claiming the last two stages, but the Briton refuses to be considered as the main favourite for the Tour de France. The Team Sky rider was a cut above American Tejay van Garderen, second overall, as well as Tour defending champion Vincenzo Nibali and world number one Alejandro Valverde. "There are still one or two little things to touch on but things are looking good," Froome, who achieved the Dauphine-Tour double in 2013, told a news conference. "For sure I'm in good condition, but I don't know for example how Alberto (Contador) is, I haven't raced against him in over a few months now," he explained. Froome beat Contador by a whisker to win the Vuelta a Andalucia in February but they have not faced each other since then as the Briton skipped the Tirreno-Adriatico week-long race in March because of illness. Spain's Contador won the Giro d'Italia last month. "Of course we saw he was really strong in the Giro this year. I expect him to go into the Tour as one of the main contenders," said Froome, who also feels defending champion Nibali will be in the mix despite an under-par showing at the Dauphine. "We've seen he manages to lift his performance when it comes to the Tour. Every rider is on a different journey to get to the Tour de France." Froome himself has taken a rockier road than two years ago, when he was brilliant all season before winning the Tour. This year he was forced to miss Tirreno-Adriatico, struggled in the Tour of Catalunya in March and suffered a crash in the Fleche Wallonne classic in April. "When I got sick before Tirreno I knew I still had time to get myself right and coming into the Tour de Romandie (last month) getting onto the podium there in third place that was already a good sign I was going in the right direction," said Froome. "It really shows that things have been progressing steadily, consistently in the right direction." (Editing by Mark Meadows)