The big loser in yesterday's first stage of Paris-Nice was pre-race favorite Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) who was caught out by an unfortunate puncture. Despite the missed opportunity, he remains confident in view of today's second stage.

Marcel Kittel had delivered a perfect job in yesterday's opening road stage of the Paris-Nice. He had asked his teammates to bring back the early breakaway which they did with 22 km remaining. Furthermore, he had made the split when OmegaPharma-QuickStep and BMC attacked in the crosswinds, and he was heading towards a tilt at success in the final bunch sprint.

Disaster struck when he was hit by an untimely puncture, and he ended up in the second group. A number of his teammates fell back, and they tried desperately to bring back their teammate to the front. Only lead-out men Tom Veelers and Bet De backer stayed in the front - ready to help if the captain came back.

The concerted effort was, however, in vain, and inside the final 5 kilometers the team gave up, and Kittel rolled in 1.53 behind winner Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ).

“After great teamwork and leading the bunch almost the whole day, we had some bad luck in the last 20km," sport director Christian Guiberteau explained. "Marcel punctured and ended up in the second group. Most of the riders on the team waited for him, but it was just too late and they weren’t able to bring him back up to the first group. At least the guys showed that they are strong, so without bad luck tomorrow (today, ed.) we should be able to do some good things.”

With the possibility of a bunch sprint in today's second stage, the team looks to make amends. However, the final sprint is uphill which makes it far less suitable for the big German, and the team is aware that their best opportunity may have been lost yesterday.

 "Marcel was especially disappointed to puncture  yesterday as he had not been caught in the echelon and the finish suited him better than today's," Guiberteau told letour.fr during today's stage which is now underway. "On the flat, with his tall build, he develops extraordinary power. As soon as there's a bit of a slope, slighter sprinters have an edge. This said, his confidence remains high, and we hope for a bunch sprint."

At the moment a four-rider breakaway consisting of Romain Feillu and Thomas De Gendt (both Vacansoleil-DCM), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Maxime Bouet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) are 3.45 ahead of the bunch, and so Kittel's hopes for a final bunch kick remain intact.