Orica-Greenedge was the dominant team in the final of the first stage of Paris-Nice as the team lined up a strong train up at the front of the peloton in the final kilometers. However, the team's designated sprinter did not remember the finish correctly and had to settle for 8th.

Emotions were mixed in the Orica-Greenedge camp after today's stage in the Paris-Nice. On the one hand the team had delivered a textbook lead-out and performed as a strong collective unit. On the other hand, the team's sprinter Leigh Howard failed to finish off the work, and the team was left empty-handed in the end.

After the stage, sports director Laurenzo Lapage tried to put his feelings into words.

“It’s difficult to be happy with the result after seeing that the team followed the plan 100 percent,” he explained. “The work and the lead out were perfect. I'm very happy with the effort."

That plan was a carefully thought out strategy with the sole aim of delivering Howard to his third victory of the season after his two successes in Mallorca in February. As a consequence, the team decided not to participate in the day's breakaway.

“We took the risk today not to go into the early break,” Lapage explained. “I wanted the numbers at the end for the strong train. We were very confident we would see a bunch sprint in the end."

Team avoided crashes

The team kept its powder dry for the final and was lucky to escape the many crashes which marred the final and forced pre-race favorite Rui Costa (Movistar) to abandon the race. Furthermore, the team was very attentive as the peloton split up in the crosswinds in the final 20 kilometers of the stage.

“We had luck and nobody from the team was involved in any crash,” Lapage said. “We all stayed in good position.”

“We had everyone in the front group. (Simon, ed.) Gerrans and (Simon, ed.) Clarke brought the boys in the position towards the end of the race."

A perfect lead-out

In the final three kilometers, the team took complete control of the peloton by taking over from Yoann Offredo (FDJ) who had done the pace-making for a number of kilometers. At this point, all went according to the plan.

“We had (Michael, ed.) Albasini take the first turn,” Lapage said. “From there it was (Fumy, ed.) Beppu, (Baden, ed.) Cooke, (Michael, ed.) Matthews and (Jens, ed.) Keukeleire. Matthews came off the front after the flamme rouge. Keukeleire did the last bit of work. This was exactly as we had discussed this morning.”

In the end, the hard work was in vain as Howard was outpowered by a number of sprinters in the final. He confessed afterwards that he was partly to blame.

“Shortly after Jens pulled off, Leigh was overtaken on both sides,” Lapage explained. “After the race, Leigh also told us that he incorrectly remembered the finish. He thought there was one more corner with 300 metres to go.”

A new opportunity

The team gets another chance to show off its lead-out skills in tomorrow's second stage of the race. Lapage expects another nervous day and another bunch sprint.

“Stage two will be more or less the same as stage one,” projected Lapage. “It will be another nervous day with concentration required throughout the entire stage. The area we race through is truly open and the wind can appear out of nowhere. The boys will be there again tomorrow, and hopefully they will be rewarded.”

In addition to Howard going for success in the sprints, the team looks to Michael Albasini for a high overall placing.