Katusha's Alexander Kristoff was delighted to come out on top in a bunch sprint to secure his first stage win at Paris-Nice on Monday.
The opening stage was a tactical affair in which all the drama was saved for the final stretch of the 196.5-kilometre route, with Kristoff keeping his cool to earn a fifth win of the season, while Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and Bryan Coquard (Europcar) rounded off the top three.
"I'm really happy. It's my first stage win in Paris-Nice and this is my fourth time coming here," the Norwegian said. "It's a step up for me.
"I was sitting in good position, but [John] Degenkolb went early on the right side and I moved there behind Nacer Bouhanni.
"Later I started my sprint from Bouhanni's wheel and was able to go in front and to take this victory.
"The race was really slow and only the final kilometers were really fast. My team-mates supported me in the final. I want to thank all the team, especially Viacheslav [Kuznetsov] and Jacopo [Guarnieri], they brought me in a perfect position for the sprint."
It was Thomas Voeckler (Eurpocar) and Anthony Delaplace (Bretagne-Seche Environnement) who tried to force the issue early on, but the peloton showed little urgency to reel in the breakaway duo initially.
Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins, who finished a disappointing 12th in Sunday's prologue, was the man who led the chase and the Briton finished in the pack to retain his position in the overall standings.
As a slow-moving field of riders made its way from Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse to Contres, spectators near the finish saw the highlight of the action as Kristoff showed his power to narrowly beat Bouhanni.
Etixx-QuickStep rider Michal Kwiatkowski, winner of the prologue, remains at the summit of the overall classification, level with BMC Racing's Dennis Rohan.
Stage two takes the competitors on a 172km ride from Saint-Aignan to Saint-Amand-Montrond.