The 109th edition of Paris-Tours began with disaster for Trek Factory Racing, losing Giacomo Nizzolo to a crash in the first kilometer, and never improved as a large 31 rider group escaped in the crosswinds a few kilometers later and the pinstripes, who had pulled back to wait for their leader, missed the move.

The 31 riders – containing many of the race favorites ­ –  held a small but threatening gap and despite Trek Factory Racing, Cofidis, Europcar and MTN-Qhubeka mounting a furious chase for over 50 kilometers they would never be seen again.

It was not the way Trek Factory Racing expected to end its final competition in Europe, but in one moment, with one crash in the first thousand meters of the 231-kilometer classic, their day was over.

“Giacomo crashed directly in the first kilometer,” explained director Alain Gallopin, “and the guys waited a little bit to see what happened and this is when the breakaway went. In hindsight, it was a mistake, but when your leader crashes it’s normal to wait. Then we tried to close the gap with Cofidis, but it was not possible. For a long time, it was 40 seconds, 45…and then some teams stopped working so I put two guys on front to work with a few others, and then when the counterattack went just Marco Coledan was there. They came close, within two minutes, but never caught the front either.

“I am not happy of course when you lose your leader after one kilometer and he is taken to the hospital. But the good news is after X-rays is that he’s okay and nothing’s broken. I don’t want to give an excuse to the guys, they were very concentrated for today, and without this incident at the start…

“I told them that the first 50 kilometers is flat and open and with the wind we absolutely need to be in the front, but in one moment of inattention…Giacomo crashes and then the guys were saying ‘what do we do?’ because when you see your leader on the ground, what do you do? You wait.”

It was a disappointing ending to Trek Factory Racing’s European calendar, but with the Japan Cup next Sunday, followed by the Tour of Hainan, there is still opportunity to complete the 2015 season on a better note.