Team Sky came through stage one without issues as the Tour of Poland kicked off with a bunch sprint in Warsaw.
The team moved towards the head of the peloton during a rapid final lap but were content to finish safely in the peloton ahead of a general classification challenge later in the seven-day event.
The opening day belonged to the sprinters and it was Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin) who prevailed, holding off the challenge of Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) into a fast final corner to take the win and an early race lead.
Salvatore Puccio led home Team Sky in 13th, finding himself on the right side of an eight-second split in the peloton after 10 laps of a 12.2km city centre circuit.
Team Sky were able to sit in the bunch to keep their powder dry with a number of other motivated teams keen to set a tempo.
Three riders - Matej Mohoric (Cannondale-Garmin), Adrian Kurek (CCC Sprandi) and Pawel Bernas (Polish National) - held a slender advantage off the front but always looked likely to be closed down.
Sergio Henao finished just on the other side of the split after a frenetic finish, with the Colombian joined in the bunch over the line by team-mates David Lopez, Mikel Nieve and Vasil Kiryienka, Xabier Zandio, Ian Boswell and Phil Deignan.
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Henrik ÅBOM 44 years | today |
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