Australian sprinter Michael Matthews had to settle for second place when outpaced by Belgium's Greg Van Avermaet in the opening stage of cycling's Tour of Utah.
Mathews had targeted a victory for his Australian-owned team Orica GreenEDGE on Tuesday but BMC's Van Avermaet broke away in the final sprint in Cedar City to claim the first of the race's six stages.
"It's hard when you're so focused on the first stage and it slips away," Matthews said.
"That's racing. You can't win every race and you have to put faith in your team.
"My sprint was good at the finish. It wasn't quite timed properly. Greg was just too strong."
American Tyler Magner - who rides for a team owned by retired pro cyclist George Hincapie - finished third.
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