EF Education-Easy Post promised to fight back to defend its polka-dot mountain prize jersey after team leader Richard Calapaz fractured his patella on stage 1, with Nielson Powles quickly breaking into the break on stage 2.

Powless earned KOM points on the climbs of Udana, Aztiria, Alquiza, and Gurutxe, and now has a four-point lead in the mountains classification.

"The lead is still small. If I miss one breakaway in the mountains, the lead could be gone. It's a long road to Paris. We have a big fight ahead of us, but it will be great. I already like [the polka-dot jersey].

After losing his breakaway partner on the Jaizkibel climb, Paules was unable to hold off the peloton behind him.

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"It was very difficult to finish because there were only three of us. As we got closer to the finish, the road got a little wetter and I started to believe in the possibilities," said Powles. If we had all stayed together before the final climb, it might have been possible."

"All I could do was run the threshold at Jaizkibel. I needed to run at least a minute faster to stay with the pack. I was one step closer, but unfortunately it was not my day."

The American WorldTour team was sad and disappointed after the finish of the first stage, but regrouped for Sunday's stage.

"It's tough, and sometimes pro cycling sucks. But we believe we'll keep fighting."

EF Education-Easy Post will focus on stage wins and the polka-dot jersey. Along with Chaves, Magnus Kort, Rigoberto Uran, Alberto Betiol, and Tour debutant James Shaw, Paules is expected to defend the polka-dot jersey for as long as possible in the Pyrenees and target stages.

The riders had talked about supporting Calapaz in his bid for overall victory on the final day before the Grande Palais, but team manager Jonathan revealed to Cycling News that this was not the case.

"We've been through this situation many times, it's nothing new," Vaughters stoically told Cycling News. 23]

"It doesn't change anything. I never ran for class with him in the first place."

"I've never run for class with him.

"That's what everyone assumed, but he wasn't ready to run GC in this race. Yesterday I thought Richard had a good shot at a stage win, but to be clear, he had tonsil problems earlier this year, so he doesn't have a foundation to build on."

"He crashed and went down hard and fast in the crash. His patella cracked and there was no coming back from that.

"The other riders always had the freedom to fight for the stage.

Karapas spoke briefly in a video message before returning home to recover.

"I wanted to say hello to everyone and to everyone who participated in this big project.

"It's okay ...... Thanks for the supportive messages. I'll be back stronger."

Shaw initially stopped to wait for the fallen Carapas, but he and his team soon realized that the Ecuadorian's race was over, even though Carapas had fought through the pain to finish the stage.

"Losing him is bad enough and all the effort he put in to be here. He was away for months in training camp. It wasn't pointless, but it was almost a waste," Shaw said.

"The plan was always to push the stage with Bettyall, Magnus, and Nielson. So we didn't bring in a domestique team just for Richard. So we are still looking forward to the race and we are still here. If anything, it's more about putting them in the right place to fulfill what they can accomplish physically."

"We are not packing our bags to go back home. I think the polka-dot jersey is the one most likely to win the jersey in Paris. Whether that is Nielson or another athlete remains to be seen.

Shaw has a supporting role on the EF Education Easy Post Tour team, but he may have a chance himself.

"Losing Richard could open some doors for myself. There is not a cloud ......" He said.

"I'm happy to be here, I'm motivated, and I can play my cards right for the breakaways in weeks 2 and 3."

"I'm still getting the same instructions: help everyone as much as possible to get in on the breakaways, and when the door opens, walk through it.