The second stage of this year's USA Pro Cycling Challenge was very much a tour into the unknown. The 203km Aspen to Breckenridge route is new to the race and when combined with the high altitude, nobody knew how the race would play out.

Race leader Peter Sagan of Cannondale Pro Cycling played down his chances before the stage start. Even though he had been training at altitude for the past two weeks, he wasn't sure if he had the form to contend for the stage win-and stay in the race for the overall.

Eventually Sagan would finish third on the day, 14 seconds down on Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team), losing his lead to Lachlan Morton (Garmin-Sharp) by just 11 seconds.

While Sagan lost the overall lead and the lead in the best young rider competition, he retained the lead in the points competition. "Finishing third by just a few seconds doesn't make me happy, but I can't be too disappointed," said Sagan. "Frank had a great ride and I tried to play my cards right in the finale. I didn't know what to expect today because the stage, on paper, was hard. I did my race without pushing too deeply. I just sat in the peloton. The feeling was good and, on the final climb, I decided to try something. Maybe tomorrow could be another good day."

If Peter Sagan was able to ride to third place on this hard stage, Cannondale Pro Cycling should fancy his chances in stage three. The 170km ride from Breckenridge to Steamboat Springs has much less climbing and the top of the last climb, Rabbit Ears, is almost 26km from the finish line, which is at the bottom of a long descent. If Sagan is close to the lead at the top of Rabbit Ears, his descending skills and sprinting prowess could give him another stage win.