After a rather anonymous performance until now, Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) showed his cards in today's queen stage of Paris-Nice when he finished second behind Carlos Betancur (Ag2r). Having again missed a win in the rainbow jersey, the world champion was happy with his sensations and said that Betancur must have had very good legs since he could beat him.

Rui Costa bided his time in the first part of Paris-Nice, waiting for the first opportunity to strike, and he finally found the right terrain when the race reached its queen stage earlier today. The world champion got close to his first win in the rainbow jersey but had to settle for 2nd.

Costa responded to an attack from Tom-Jelte Slagter on the final climb and the pair bridged across to lone leader Alexis Vuillermoz inside the final 500m. When the latter came down in the final hairpin bend and Slagter dropped his chain, Costa suddenly had a gap over his rivals and seemed to be running away with the win.

However, Betancur made a great comeback to pass Costa just before the line and for the fourth time in 2014 he was second in a race. He now sits in third overall, 18 seconds behind new leader Betancur.

"I have to congratulate Betancur," he said. "I could see the finish line approaching and I knew I had gained a good lead, but Carlos was able to make a impressive comeback. Only with great legs he could beat me today.

"This was the first stage that was selective enough. I've done well and was well-protected by my teammates during the race. I found a good rhythm on the final climb and I attacked with the right timing. I had good feelings in my legs and it was hard to do much better but unfortunately it was not enough. 

"Lets say that the day was positive when it comes to sensations, but it remains a regret not to have won. The overall standings are difficult. It will be an interesting weekend in which I'd like to try to give satisfaction to the team and my fans."

You can read our preview of stage 7 here and follow our live coverage at 14.25 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.