Sacha Modolo had hoped to continue his excellent start to the season in yesterday's first sprint of Tirreno-Adriatico but the Italian had to settle for 8th. Having been well-protected by his teammates, he hadn't taken notice of the strong headwind and hit the front too early.

Sacha Modolo has got his career at Lampre-Merida off to a fantastic start and in yesterday's very hectic finale of the first sprint stage in Tirreno-Adriatico, his team was one of the very few who seemed to be well-organized. Filippo Pozzato, Davide Cimolai, and Maximilano Richeze delivered their sprinter perfectly for the win and all seemed to be in place for another Modolo win.

However, the Italian faded at the end and had to settle for 8th. In fact, the failure was a result of a misjudgment of the wind which was caused by too much protection from his strong team.

"The wind killed me," he said. "I had always been on the wheel of my teammates and did not think the headwind was so intense. I struggled with Demaré to find an opening, I braked and then I managed to launch my sprint with conviction because his legs were good. Unfortunately, I realized too late how strong the headwind was. It was easy to come from behind if you had been protected a bit longer.

"I am sorry not to have finalized the good work of my teammates.
 

The team is in the race with a dual purpose as they also want to focus on the GC with Chris Horner, Damiano Cunego, and Diego Ulissi.

"The first goal was to stay away from the unexpected and, given that there were some crashes and we were not involved, we can be satisfied from this point of view," sports director Orlando Maini said. "The preparation for the sprint was very good. It was not easy since the crashes had blown up the various trains. Sacha - well supported by his teammates - was able to gain ground on Demare but as he had started to early, the wind took its toll."

You can read our preview of stage 3 here.