Great Britain's Mark Cavendish powered past Slovakia's Peter Sagan just before the finish line on Sunday to win the first stage of the Tour of California.
Australian Will Clarke of the Drapac team sits second in the overall standings behind Cavendish, a 25-time Tour de France stage winner.
Cavendish raced to his 10th victory of the season, finishing the 126.2-mile (203km) flat road race in 4 hours, 43 minutes, 27 seconds.
He also won Tour of California stages in Sacramento in 2010 and last year, also on the opening day.
Sagan, the four-time sprint competition winner in the Tour de France and an 11-time stage winner at the Tour of California, was second in the same time.
Jean-Pierre Drucker of Luxembourg was third in the mass sprint.
The second stage on Monday is a 120-mile road race from Nevada City to Lodi.
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