Manxman Pete Kennaugh was in imperious form on his way to victory at the Coppi e Bartali and had high hopes of a high GC finish here.

Kennaugh’s team-mate and former Euskaltel-Euskadi man, Mikel Nieve, knows a thing or two about the Basque Country and was Team Sky’s leader on the startlist but there were nevertheless high hopes Kennaugh could help the British team mount a joint challenge.

But while Nieve succeeded in staying in the chasing group behind Alberto Contador, Kennaugh missed out, with directeur sportif Dan Frost revealing after the stage that the 24-year-old had struggled throughout the day.

Kennaugh rolled in nearly 16 minutes behind Contador and any hopes he had of mounting an overall challenge were swiftly obliterated on day one. The Manxman – tipped to be a future Grand Tour contender – still has a big role to play as a support rider for Nieve, but his personal ambitions are now limited in the race.