Liquigas did everything right in order to get Peter Sagan the win. They sent a man in the breakaway, protected him throughout the event, and gave him appropriate leadoff. The only thing they couldn't account for was the shear power of Matt Goss. Goss overcame his HTC Columbia team's strategic struggles and powered his way past race favorite Sagan. HTC was unable to place a man in the 4 man breakaway (Liquigas had Daniel Oss) which lasted until the final kilometers of the race. This forced them to do a large part of the chase work, while Liquigas was able to get their riders in place for the sprint. Goss was finally able to find his way to the front after a great scrambling effort by his teammates. Sagan still believes he could have won the event, citing jetlag and fatigue as well as some possible interference as reasons why he was unable to close the deal. Regardless of what he had to say, it was Goss's time to shine. Goss is usually one of the initial leadoff men for the team's top sprinters (Cavendish and last year's champion Greipel) so he embraced the opportunity to be the top man for a change. All in all, it was yet another great ending to a race that has become noted for late drama.
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