Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions) was the only big-name sprinter to finish in the top ten on the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico and was angry that some dangerous riding in the finishing straight perhaps cost him a chance at victory.
Farrar survived the terrible weather conditions and a testing climb on the two finishing circuits to finish seventh behind stage winner Linus Gerdemann (Milram).
Farrar was especially angry with Italy's Francesco Ginanni (Androni Giocattoli) who finished tenth on the stage. The two went shoulder-to-shoulder in the sprint and swapped some angry stares and some strong words after the finish. Fortunately the Garmin-Transitions soigneur acted as translator and calmed them both down.
Farrar was wet, cold and covered in the dirt of the road after three and a half hours in the saddle but shared his anger and disappointment with Cyclingnews as he headed to the Garmin-Transitions team bus.
"It was a really dangerous sprint. Some of these guys will take huge risks to try and win. I don't understand them. They were willing to actually crash for a placing," Farrar said.
"I was on the barriers, he (Ginanni) came over and I shouted out 'oh, oh'. But he just looked me in the eye and then continued to squeeze me. It's incredible."
Farrar is still looking for his first victory of the 2010 season but survived the climb on the two laps of the finishing circuit that saw other sprinters get dropped. Unfortunately for him Gerdemann, Lastras, Breschel and Paolini got a gap over the top of the last climb and stayed away to the finish.
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Thursday's second stage includes more late climbs but Farrar could make it over them better than most of his sprint rivals and so perhaps get revenge on Ginanni in the sprint.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
