Kwiatkowski triumphed over the 6.6 kilometres ride against the clock by just a single second over LottoNL-Jumbo's Dutch rider Jos van Emden.

The Pole clocked a time of 7min 25sec for a first win since claiming the overall title in the Tirreno-Adriatico in March.

“I know how hard I was training to be here in shape for the Dauphiné and for the Tour de France,” Kwiatkowski said.

“You have to be at the start thinking about the win, otherwise you won’t perform well.”

Team Sky also claimed third place courtesy of Italy's Gianni Moscon, who was a further two seconds back.

It was a mixed day for the team, however, as Great Britain's Geraint Thomas crashed on a bend after setting off at a blistering pace.

He eventually finished 21 seconds behind his team-mate with blood showing and parts of his suit missing.

"Didn’t think I went in too fast...Obviously was," Thomas tweeted afterwards.

"All ok though, just some cuts, could have been a lot worse!! 

"At least the form is good."

Many of the overall contenders finished close to Thomas on the leaderboard, including France's Ag2r La Mondiale rider Romain Bardet and Italy's 2014 Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali, riding for Bahrain-Merida.

A 179km second stage to Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert tomorrow should prove one for the sprinters.