Brett Lancaster delivered a spectacular result for Orica-GreenEdge in the prologue in their Tour de France debut on Saturday, the Australian posting a time of 7:23, 11 seconds down on winner Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Nissan).
The effort earned Lancaster 6th place but the performance was not as easy as it may have appeared after the 32-year-old crashed during the warm-up lap.
Lancaster has been known to perform well in prologues, winning the opener at the 2005 Giro d'Italia in Reggio Calabria.
Speaking to Cyclingnews following his ride in Liege, the Spanish-based rider from Shepparton in Victoria said he had taken it easy on the 6.4km courses many corners.
"[My] legs honestly didn't feel strong but I think in some of the better prologues you do, you feel like that," he explained.