Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) put in an incredible final sprint on stage 1 at Tour de Wallonie to draw level with Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and just pip the Irish champion on the finish line.
Tim Merlier, the Belgian national road race champion riding for Alpecin-Fenix, rounded out the podium after a sprint in which Ewan and Bennett looked much faster than all of their rivals.
Ewan was led out well by his team in the finale but appeared to slip, or his chain perhaps jumped, just as he began his kick to the line; forcing him to make up a lot of ground and veer across the road to expertly pick a gap up the inside and win the day.
That followed Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea Samsic) and Mark Cavendish (Bahrain McLaren) going shoulder to shoulder as they competed for the wheel when Groupama-FDJ led out just before the sprint began.
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Michael Mørkøv brought Bennett through the traffic expertly and just as the Irish rider kicked for the line Cavendish went backwards, causing the riders towards the front of the group to scatter around him.
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However, despite a chaotic sprint in the rain, Ewan came through it all incredibly well to power his way to victory and deny Bennett another win by the smallest of margins after the 187km stage from Soignies to Templeuve.
Tomorrow's stage 2 should be another one for the sprinters before the terrain becomes more undulating for the final two stages with plenty of short and sharp climbs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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