Race leader Philip Gaimon (Garmin-Sharp) gave the pre-race favourites a reason to worry when he finished 15th on the first mountain stage of the Tour de San Luis. Having only conceded 11 seconds to stage winner Julian Arredondo (Trek), he is now confident that he can win the race overall.

When Philip Gaimon won stage 1 by finishing 4.35 ahead of the main peloton on the opening stage of the Tour de San Luis, many thought that it was mainly a missed opportunity for the sprinters. After the first mountain stage of the race, however, the GC contenders have every reason to worry about the American.

Full of confidence, Gaimon asked his team to control the entire stage to bring things back together for the final climb. When the action kicked off on the slopes, he managed to stay in the group of favourites almost to the top and only lost a bit of ground in the sprint inside the final 500m of the stage.

Gaimon finished 15th on the stage and limited his losses to stage winner Julian Arredondo to only 8 seconds. Two mountain stages and a time trial still await the riders but Gaimon is confident that he can win the race overall.

"It was so hot but we enjoyed it," he said. "The team is very strong with Farrar for the flat stages and Acevedo and Danielson for the climbs. Five minutes are enough of an advantage and I only lost 11 second at the end because I preferred to go at my own pace."

Garmin-Sharp sports director Chann McRae is equally confident in his new signing who finished 2nd in the mountainous Tour of the Gila while riding as at continental level in 2013.

"He's a skinny guy, and I know his numbers and they're definitely those of a climber - that's one of the reasons we signed him," he told Cyclingnews. "He worked on his time trialing this winter and before we signed him we told him it was going to be really important for him this year. He's been working on it, his position's good so he's going to go as fast as he can."

Gaimon will get an easier day today when the race continues with a stage for the sprinters. Garmin-Sharp is likely to try to put Tyler Farrar in the mix.