Evans was active in the finale of the first road race stage. Almost completely flat with a punchy uphill finish, the stage kept the peloton together most of the way before a crash from the end split the field. Evans stayed out front and shadowed Philippe Gilbert on the finish atop the Mont des Alouettes. The Belgian won the stage, but Evans finished clear of the peloton for second place three seconds back. This positioned the team well for the stage 2 team time trial. Despite being considered the lesser of squads such as Garmin-Cervélo, Team Sky, and HTC-Highroad, among others, the squad finished second just four seconds back of Garmin-Cervélo, tied with Team Sky and Leopard Trek. The result left Garmin-Cervélo riders Thor Hushovd and David Millar tied on the same time at the top of the overall classification, with the Norwegian taking the yellow jersey, and Evans installed into third overall just a single second back. Evans said after the stage that he was very pleased with the team's effort and had confidence for the continuation of the race.