Cameron Rogers produced a superb Prologue performance to claim victory on the opening day of the Tour of Rhodes.
The Australian clocked a time of two minutes and 42 seconds across the rapid 2.1-kilometres course. Victory by two and a half seconds represented the first success for the INEOS Grenadier Racing Academy in its first season.
The result ensured Rogers moved into an initial race lead over nearest rival Matteo Scalco (XDS Astana Development).
Nicolas Milesi and Josh Charlton were the next Racing Academy riders home, seven and nine seconds respectively behind their teammate.
The action continues on Friday with an undulating circuit around Maritsa.
Reaction
Cameron Rogers: "I'm super happy with today. It's a day we've been working towards with the coaches and the team and to get the first win for the Racing Academy is awesome. I'm super happy to have pulled it off.
"It's very special. To be able to get the first win for the team is incredible. I've been working with Boy Sanders my coach, Dario Cioni and Simon Watts towards this. Just to be here was huge, but to pick up the win means a lot. I know how much time and effort these guys have put into our Academy and I've seen how passionate they are. It's the best feeling to be able to pay it off for them and what we're working towards.
"I'd chatted with Dario prior to the race. We knew the wind conditions and we knew it would pick up throughout the day, and tried to get my start position as early as possible. The effort was executed perfectly. We did lots of reconing yesterday and today. I didn't brake once to be honest, I was just flinging through the corners. I had to dig really deep and I left it all out there. There's no better feeling.
"Going into the race with the yellow jersey and the young rider's jersey is an awesome feeling. We'll see how the rest of the race plays out.
"There's been a lot of sickness out here in Rhodes across all teams, so it's been a real challenge to be here. I knew this result was possible and that if I could stay healthy I could do this. I've had prologue wins before so I knew that I had it in the legs if I did everything right. Along with how well Dario, Boy, Simon and the team are dialled, I think it was a guaranteed win today.
"Now we're starting our first Tour together in the leader's jersey which is awesome and it's the perfect way to start it."