Chris Froome bristled at the suggestion his first race of the season was providing a mental escape from the fight to clear his name as he maintained seventh place in the Ruta del Sol.

The 32-year-old insisted it was business as usual and confirmed he will do a warm-up race in March as he continues his preparation for the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.

“It’s great to be racing, it’s not about tension or relief, I am just starting my season,” Froome said, while also claiming reaction to his failed drug test in September last year had been exaggerated. “It’s been hyped up in the media,” he said. “Anyone can see that.”

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There was more attention than usual on the third stage of the Ruta del Sol which finished with a bunched sprint through the small town of Herrera, nestled in the hills an hour’s drive outside Seville. The stage, a 166km stretch which began in Mancha Real was won by the Italian Sacha Modolo of the EF Education First-Drapac team but Froome’s Team Sky comrade Wout Poels retained the red leader’s jersey.

Froome is 28 seconds adrift but is likely to feature prominently in a 14.2km time trial on Sunday as the race finishes in Barbate, a coastal town in Cadiz. Froome said it will be another opportunity to gauge his form.

“This is a good starting block in terms of looking forward to the larger goals I have this season,” he said. “I will empty the tank [in the time trial]. It’s another test of where I am at, and how much work I have to do.”

While Froome has insisted the peloton has been overwhelmingly supportive of him here, the magnifying glass will continue to be trained on him throughout the season. He confirmed he will race the Tirreno-Adriatico, a WorldTour event in Italy before his planned start at the Giro in May. Froome has raced Tirreno-Adriatico only once, in 2013 when he was second, 23 seconds behind the winner Vincenzo Nibali.

Riders continued to react to Froome’s decision to ride while he fights to prove there is a legitimate reason for a urine sample he gave last year showing twice the permitted level of the asthma drug salbutamol.

“Froome should not be racing until there is a definitive conclusion to this, for better or for worse,” the Belgian Oliver Naesen said. “You can’t consider it a normal situation. This is very bad news for fans of the sport and its credibility.”