Peter Sagan storms to glory on the opening sprint stage at the Tour of California

Peter Sagan outsprinted Travis McCabe (USA National Team) to win his 17th stage victory at the Tour of California

It was a beautiful Californian day for the opening stage around Sacramento, flat and only a bit of wind.

Four riders in the breakaway were Laurens De Vreese (Astana), Michael Schar (CCC Team), Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk), Tyler Stites (USA National Team).

After the intermediate sprint, won by Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk), Laurens De Vreese (Astana) drifted back into the peloton.

Shortly after so did Michael Schar (CCC Team).

With 10 miles to go the peloton lead by Dimension Data, Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck-QuickStep reeled in the final escape, Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk).

Over the famous bridge and past city hall, the peloton picked up speed and the sprinters team started to dominate the head of the peloton.

With just 6 miles to go,  Mads Pederson took the intermediate lap sprint and 3 bonus seconds.

In the finale, Team Ineos and Quickstep lead out the sprint, Sagan sat on their wheel.

In the final 100 metres Sagan launched his sprint, only McCabe could match him, on the line Sagan's bike throw helped him secure his 17th stage victory at the Tour of California.

"There is no doubt this is a very nice win, not just for me but for the entire team. Earlier today, Pascal Ackermann dominated the sprint at the Giro and now we doubled up with another strong effort here in California. I'd like to thank everybody for their dedication, the team did a great job. They controlled the race and brought me to a perfect position for the sprint. I was focused, stayed in the front in the final stretch and timed my attack well. It's a nice feeling to start with a win in one of my favourite races." said Peter Sagan

VIDEO: 2019 Tour of California Stage 1 Highlights

Tomorrow's Stage 2 is a mammoth mountain stage,  starting at sea level, by the end of the day, the racers will have amassed nearly 15,000’ of climbing over 121-miles of racing. 

The peloton will also encounter some serious elevation. The KOM at Carson pass tops out at 8,620’, the highest point the race has ever reached in its 14 years. A long descent will allow the riders a short rest, but a left turn onto Hwy 89 will take them to the top of Luther Pass and into South Lake Tahoe. For those that have raced to South Lake Tahoe in previous years, they know that a brutal finish up the steep roads to the Heavenly ski area finish looms ahead.

2019 Tour of California Stage 1 Top 10

1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:14:10
2 Travis McCabe (USA) USA National Team
3 Maximilian Walscheid (Ger) Team Sunweb
4 Kristoffer Halvorsen (Nor) Team Ineos
5 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
6 Owain Doull (GBr) Team Ineos
7 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:04
8 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Merida
9 Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
10 Jasper Philipsen (Bel) UAE Team Emirates