Owain Doull
Damien Howson
Philip Lavery
Daniel Lloyd
Trent Lowe
Fredrik Ludvigsson
Rene Mandri
Rasmus Quaade

Wanting to make sure he was part of the break, Ludvigsson attacked as soon as the flag dropped.

After 23km of riding on his own, Fredrik was finally joined by Ramon Carretero (VIN), and the pair worked well to build a good lead of over 7 minutes.

AG2R took the control of the peleton, and with help from Accent Jobs, the gap to the break began to decrease very quickly.

Carretero and Ludvigsson were caught by the peleton with 17km to go, and it looked set to end in bunch sprint.

The lead out trains formed, and we looked to be strongest and most organised in the run to the finish. Could we take the win on stage 1?

As the sprint begins, Lavery and Mandri are swamped in the lead out, and suddenly look boxed in. Kevyn Ista (IAM) is the man who finds the prefect gap and sprints to the victory. Adam Blythe (BMC) and Danilo Napolitano (AJW) complete the podium, as Rene comes home 6th.

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All attacks at the start of the stage were eliminated by IAM Cycling, as the peleton approached the first Intermediate Sprint all together.

The day's break finally formed after the Intermediate Sprint, as Erviti (MOV) and Tossato (TST) attacked off the front.

The gap grew to over 3 minutes, as Dennis Vanendert (LTB) tried to join the pair in the lead on the road.

The peleton upped their pace, as the gap to the break reached over 5 minutes, and it was clear that the sprinters wanted this to end in a mass sprint.

IAM Cycling applied the pressure on the front, and soon the gap was down to less than a minute approaching the final KoM sprint. This will be a mass sprint finish.

In the run to the finish, Orica-GreenEdge looked like they have the best organisation, as Beppu led out Impey. Lavery and Mandri were nowhere to be seen at the front.

And Impey takes a comfortable victory. The South African was unchallenged in the sprint to the line, as the rest of the pack could not get themselves organised. Lavery was our best finisher, down in 18th, on a disappointing day for the team.

As planned, Fredrik attacked from the flag drop, and had Sergio Pardilla (MTN) for company.

AG2R and IAM cycling took the control of the peleton, but seemed happy to let the pair go off the front.

IAM comtinued to set the pace of the peleton, as the break's lead crept above the 5 minute mark.

On the slightly more difficult KoM climb, it was thought that Pardilla would take maximum points, but Ludvigsson was tactically more aware. Back in the peleton, Doull was aware enough to attack and stop Tosatto from taking the final points again.

32km from the finish, the break down to less than 2 minutes. Pardilla panicked, attacking hard away from Fredrik. The young Swede couldn't go with him, just hoping to hold on until after the final KoM sprint.

Fredrik as brought back just over the top of the final KoM climb, and Pardilla was also back in the peleton shortly after. Orica-GreenEdge hit the front, in what was another badly organised lead-out for many other teams.

Impey takes his second win in a row! Meersman (OPQ) just could not match the speed, as GreenEdge dominate the Top 5. Dan Lloyd put in a great ride for the team, finishing 8th.