Astana played an active role in today's People's Choice Classic as Dario Cataldo, Lieuwe Westra and Davide Malacarne all went on the attack.

“The breakaway was a test to see how I am doing. For my first race in Astana colors I feel like I passed," Dario Cataldo said after the 51km People’s Choice Classic criterium in Adelaide – Astana Pro Team’s first race of the 2015 season.

Cataldo worked in a 4-man breakaway in front of tens of thousands of Australian cycling fans in warm, summer weather, and took valuable sprint competition points in three of four intermediate finish laps. Ruslan Tleubayev moved to the front for the finale, a mass sprint won by Germany’s Marcel Kittel – with most riders in the same time.

"I have had a good winter and am currently better than last year at this time," Westra wrote on his website. "Then, in my first participation in Australia, I was not too good as I wanted to peak later in the season. Now it is something else. With Paris-Nice as my first goal, I try to be more a part of the battle. 

"I know most stage finishes from last year and know how difficult it can be to get a good result. The third stage is a new uphill finish in Paracombe: 1.2 kilometers with sections of ten percent. During our recon, we noticed that there will be differences. 

"I am not the leader of Astana. Luis Leon Sanchez is here with an excellent form and I expect a lot from him. I hope to stay near the front and help as much as I can."

The team now looks to the start of the six-day Tour Down Under on Tuesday.