Until now, Rui Costa hasn't done an awful lot to show his rainbow jersey in Paris-Nice but his Lampre-Merida team is just happy to have got to this point without any significant time loss. The Italian formation hopes to strike in the harder stages to come.

Prior to this year's Paris-Nice, Rui Costa was one of the biggest favourites to come away with the overall win but until now the world champion has been a rather anonymous presence. He hasn't tried any major attacks but remains well-positioned on GC in 12th, 19 seconds behind race leader Geraint Thomas.

Yesterday he delivered another discrete performance but stayed aware when the attacks were launched on the final climb. His team is happy to find themselves in a good position at this point of the race and is looking forward to the harder stages to come.

"We were well-protected throughout the race," sports director Joxean Fernandez Matxin said. "Until now, the courses have mostly been difficult for their technical nature than for their elevation profiles. We have wanted to concentrate on staying out of danger.

"Ahead of the [final climb of] Cote de Sainte Catherine, Serpa, Rui Costa, and Niemiex were all in the first group. Niemiex tried to attack and demonstrated good condition. He was caught just before Nibali's attack but this was also neutralized by the peloton.

"The difference was made on the descent. Betancur, Jungels, and Fuglsang took advantage of a treacherous section to earn the handful of seconds that later proved decisive."

You can read our preview of stage 6 here and follow our live coverage of the stage at 14.25 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.