While Team CSC had Nicki Sørensen in the 11-man break on Stage 3 of Paris-Nice, sports director Kim Andersen said after the stage that the team should have been more attentive when Jörg Jaksche bridged up to the group on the Côte de Lavet (km 77), which left his team with no choice but to chase down the 2004 victor.
"We should have had a rider following Jaksche, when he bridged up to Nicki's group, but we didn't. This meant we had to lead the peloton in order to reel them in," said Andersen on the team's website, team-csc.com.
"Unfortunately the climb wasn't hard enough to make a difference, so the main contenders were able to keep up. Jens [Voigt] was perfectly positioned before the sprint, but he started out in too high a gear at the steep finish, which otherwise would have suited him well."
Voigt is currently placed sixth on the general classification, the same time as team-mate Vladimir Gusev and four seconds behind team-mate Kurt-Asle Arvesen, and nine seconds in arrears of overall leader Tom Boonen from Quick.Step.
Meanwhile, on the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy, CSC sports director Alain Gallopin was disappointed to see sprinters Lars Michaelsen and Giovanni Lombardi dropped on one of the climbs, while Jakob Piil is still suffering the painful effects of his crash in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne two weekends ago.
"Unfortunately Michaelsen and Lombardi were dropped on one of the climbs, so they didn't have a chance to be well positioned for the sprint. Piil is still in a lot of pain due to his injury, but I believe he will be ready for tomorrow's stage," said Gallopin. "I think we have some good riders on our team, and even though the race is not as tough as Paris-Nice, we will try to make a difference in some of the stages," he said.
