Luka Mezgec of Giant Shimano won the opening stage of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.
A seven stage race, which is one for the climbers and one that was won last year by Garmin Sharp's Dan Martin, started with a 169.7km stage which started and finished in the resort of Calella.
Boris Vallee of Lotto Belisol and Romain Lemarchand of Cofidis were the first to escape and were eight minutes clear before Vallee took the first sprint of the race.
The gap started to drop and by the time of the second sprint which Vallee again won, the duo had a lead of four minutes.
With less than fifty kilometres remaining and the gap down to ninety seconds, Amets Txurruka of Caja Rural, chased after the escapers who were on their way up the Alt de Montseny.
Txurruka caught up to Valee and Lemarchand and joined them, working on the front with a 38 second gap ahead of a peloton which had Team Sky led by Chris Froome on the front.
Approaching a third category climb, the peloton brought back the escapers and Martens, Brambilla and Arredondo took over as the race went through Aruyns de Munt with fifteen kilometres to go.
Kelderman, Cherel and Hardy took their turn on the front on the cap de Caruso. At a roundabout, Cherel and Hardy mis-judged the exit, leaving Kelderman out on his own.
Cherel and Hardy were engulfed by the peloton as the race entered Sant Pol De Mar and then into the finak kilometre.
There was a bunch sprint with Orica Green Edge trying to lead out Leigh Howard but it was Luka Mezgec of Giant Shimano who won in 04.09.12 ahead of Howard, Alaphhilippe, Martens, Van Der Sande, Ratto, Burghardt, Ferrari, Dmoulin and Brambrilla.
Megez is in the white with three green hoops leader's jersey for the second stage from Mataró to Girona. Romain Lemarchand took the King Of The Mountains jersey and the day's Michael Poulet award with Boris Valee taking the sprints jersey.
Source: DSG
