Orica-GreenEDGE's Simon Gerrans pipped Andre Greipel on the finish line to win Stage 1 of the Santos Tour Down Under.
The Australian champion launched a perfectly-timed sprint in the Lotto-Belisol rider's slipstream to claim the opening stanza and Tour Down Under race lead.
Australian criterium champion Steele von Hoff (Garmin-Sharp) completed the podium finishing in third place.
"I guess I surprised a few today, myself included," Gerrans, a two-time Tour Down Under champion, said.
"Obviously Andre is one of the fastest guys going around. I'm pretty pleased to be get over him on the line.
"It was a tough finale, everyone was pretty tired coming in to the finish. I thought that might have taken the sting out of Greipel's legs a little bit. I left my sprint really late, which meant I just had to get around him."
Gerrans's Orica-GreenEDGE team-mate Daryl Impey took control of the peloton as it thundered towards the finish in Angaston. Greipel was quick to claim Impey's wheel with Gerrans slotting in behind the big German.
Greipel launched a long sprint, but Gerrans was able to slip out behind him in the uphill finishing straight and claim his second victory of the season.
A group of about 50 riders had formed a front selection as the peloton splintered on the Mengler Hill climb within 15km of the finish.
Australian pre-race favourites Cadel Evans (BMC) and Richie Porte (Sky) were among the leaders, with Gerrans and Greipel.
With 8.5km to go, Japanese champion Yukiya Arashiro and his Europcar team-mate Bjorn Thurau attacked and were able to pull away from the peloton to create a 10-second lead.
The pair was eventually caught with one kilometre to go, paving the way for the sprint finale.
A sunny 30-degree day welcomed riders to first WorldTour stage of the year, a 135km course through the Barossa Valley from Nuriootpa to Angaston.
As the peloton eased its legs back into race mode, Drapac’s Will Clarke and Neil van der Ploeg (UniSA-Australia) attacked as soon as the flag dropped.
They were quick to establish a lead and were three minutes ahead of the peloton only seven kilometres into the race.
The peloton let the pair’s advantage sit around the three-minute mark for the first half of the stage.
With 50km to go and the race heading towards Mengler Hill, Sky and Luke Durbridge, of Orica-GreenEDGE, ramped up the speed, with Clarke and van der Ploeg’s lead dipping below three minutes.
By 25km to go, the peloton was only 90 seconds behind the leading pair. Van der Ploeg held on for a few kilometres more, eventually being caught with 19km to go, while Clarke forged alone.
With four kilometres to Mengler Hill, Clarke was reeled in, but his efforts were rewarded with the most aggressive rider prize.
Team Sky neo-pro Nathan Earle lead onto the 3.3km climb, with a fast tempo preventing any rider going off the front, while a handful of riders were unhitched from the back on the peloton.
Midway up the climb the fast tempo split the peloton, with a group of about 50 riders going clear, while young Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan, amongst others, were tailed off.
Lotto-Belisol’s Adam Hansen launched an well-timed attack to claim the King of the Mountains points.
Gerrans holds a five-second lead over Greipel ahead of Stage 2 from Prospect to Stirling.
"I hope its not too early to take the overall lead as I have it now," Gerrans said. "We have a fantastic squad here so I have a lot of faith in the guys.
"Looking forward to the end of the week it would have been better if Andre had the lead going into tomorrow to give us a bit of a hand to defend. But like I said, you have to take every opportunity that comes up and you've got to go for these stage wins when you get them."
Stage 1: 135km, Nuriootpa - Angaston
1 Simon Gerrans (AUS) Orica-GreenEDGE 3hr 20min 34sec
2 Andre Greipel (GER) Lotto-Belisol
3 Steele von Hoff (AUS) Garmin-Sharp
4 Deigo Ulissi (ITA) Lampre-Merida
5 Maxime Bouet (FRA) Ag2r La Mondiale
6 Francescoe Gavazzi (ITA) Astana
7 Simon Geschke (GER) Giant-Shimano
8 Rafael Vallis Ferri (ESP) Lampre-Merida
9 Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing
10 Robert Gesink (NED) Belkin
General Classification
1 Simon Gerrans (AUS) Orica-GreenEDGE 3hr 20min 34sec
2 Andre Greipel (GER) Lotto-Belisol 0:00:05
3 Steele von Hoff (AUS) Garmin-Sharp 0:00:07
4 Simon Geschke (GER) Giant-Shimano 0:00:10
5 Deigo Ulissi (ITA) Lampre-Merida 0:00:11
6 Maxime Bouet (FRA) Ag2r La Mondiale
7 Francescoe Gavazzi (ITA) Astana
8 Rafael Vallis Ferri (ESP) Lampre-Merida
9 Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing
10 Robert Gesink (NED) Belkin
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