Lining up the first sprint of a new season is always a complicated business and doing it at 2,500 metres above sea level only adds a layer of difficulty. Even so, the disappointment was palpable among Mark Cavendish's Astana Qazaqstan squad after stage 1 of the Tour Colombia in Duitama as they filed their way through a corridor of fans towards their team van.
One local leant across a barrier and made energetic attempts to draw Cavendish's attention – "Mark! Mark! Mark!" – but for the Manxman and his lead-out train, the defeat was still too raw. Only Alexey Lutsenko managed to raise a smile when the same fan eventually turned his efforts to serenading him instead: "Dale Alexey!"
