Primoz Roglic won the opening stage of the Tour of Catalunya on Monday, a hilly 164km run beginning and ending in the seaside town of Sant Feliu de Guixols on the Costa Brava.
The three-time Vuelta a Espana winner Roglic of Jumbo-Visma was strongest over the final 200m in a slightly uphill dash for the line.
"You always hope for the best and then you have to do it," said Roglic.
"I just had enough in the legs at the end."
?? Viu de nou l'últim Km d'etapa d'avui a @Guixols!
— Volta a Catalunya (@VoltaCatalunya) March 20, 2023
?? Relive the last Km of Stage 1 with @rogla victory! @JumboVismaRoad #VoltaCatalunya102 pic.twitter.com/912dIckHto
Vuelta a Espana title holder in 23-year-old world champion Remco Evenepoel was a narrow and disappointed second.
"It's the first time I've sprinted against Primoz. We had quite equal speed but I think I had to come from too far," said the Soudal-Quick Step rider Evenepoel.
"It's a pity to come second."
Roglic leads Evenepoel by four seconds in the overall standings thanks to bonus seconds for the win. Ineos rider and former Tour de France champion Egan Bernal finished 20sec down.
Team UAE leader Adam Yates hit the tarmac in a crash 5km from home and lost 10 minutes, crossing the line badly grazed.
His teammate Joao Almeida is however only 10sec down in the rankings.
On a dull day with roadside fans kitted out in puffer jackets and woolly hats, the 175 rider peloton raced along at a relatively swift 43km per hour.
An early four-rider escape was swept up by a charging peloton just 6km from the finish line after a run inland to Girona and back.
Dutch rider Jetse Bol of the Burgos BH team picked up the King of the Mountains tunic for the points he racked up on the day's four climbs.
With a string of mountain passes in the Pyrenees on the seven day race which culminates at the Montjuic circuit in Barcelona there will be a relentless fight for the mountains jersey here.
Tuesday's second stage features a 2,135m altitude summit finish at Vallter after a category one ascent half way through the stage.