Elia Viviani got the Eneco Tour off to a perfect start for Team Sky with a well-timed sprint to win the opening stage.

The Italian was brought to the front of the peloton by his team-mates in the closing stages before finding the perfect wheel in Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol).

The big German kicked early but it was Viviani who emerged from his slipstream to take an impressive victory, fending off the late charge of Danny van Poppel (Trek Factory Racing) and Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC Racing) at the line.

That win moved Viviani into the both the race lead and the points jersey in Bolsward, with a four-second advantage overall courtesy of bonus seconds on the line.

Team Sky committed numbers to the front in the final 20km, keeping Viviani out of trouble on a day which was peppered with crashes.

Full of praise for his team-mates, Viviani explained the final run-in, saying: "We preferred to stay at the front to stay out of all the crashes. In the final kilometre Andy Fenn took me and put me on the best wheel. When I saw Greipel's wheel I took that and I thought 'okay I'm in a good position'.

"When he started to sprint he went very fast, and I thought, 'now I wait a second and then I go'. I think I did 200 metres of a sprint. I had good legs in the final today and after a long gap without races following the Giro this is the best way to start a new second part of the season."

At 183.5km, the opening stage kicked off on Dutch soil and Nathan Earle set about helping with the workload in the rotation on the front of the peloton.

Team Sky moved up when required, with narrow roads causing crashes, but it was a strong-lead out which helped put Viviani in position.

Danny Pate, Bernhard Eisel, Ian Stannard, Chris Sutton and Fenn all helped drive the pace, before Viviani was left to surf the wheels to great effect.

After his third win of the season the Italian added: "In the last 3km we had Ian Stannard, Chris Sutton and Andy Fenn. When they had finished their work Andy kept me at the left side.

"The plan is in the last kilometre to take the best wheel we can. We know Lotto have a big team for the lead-out train, the same for Lampre. So we knew one of these would be a good train and it turned out to be Lotto today."

Sports Director Kurt Asle Arvesen was thrilled to see the team get off to a winning start in Holland. 

"That was a brilliant start to the race. We dreamed about it," said the Norwegian. "The guys were a bit early getting to the front but it helped keep Andy and Elia out of trouble. It also saved them a lot of energy as they didn't have to fight for position.

"Everyone in the team was a part of that victory which is always really nice. Andy and Elia finished it off perfectly. In the end Elia had enough experience to let people into the line between them and find the right wheel. 

"We didn't have any issues with the crashes and the boys stayed out of trouble. Lars Petter (Nordhaug) was also feeling much better than expected after the crash in Denmark too so that was good." 

It was only the third race day for Elia Viviani since competing in the Giro. He didn't play a leading role at the European Games in Baku or in the Prudential Ride Londen, but managed to beat all the other sprinters in the first stage of the Eneco Tour. 

"It was a nerve-wracking finale", explains Viviani, who won a stage in this year's Tour of Qatar as well as the Giro. "My track experience helped me a lot. I knew exactly which line to take and where to position myself." His 'track record' says it all: 14 Italian titles, five European gold medals and three world championship medals.

When Lotto-Soudal jumped to the front, Viviani picked Greipel's draft. A sound move, considering the German pre-race favourite won four stages in the Tour de France. "I quickly got ahead of him. When I looked over my shoulders I saw a couple of riders coming close. I just had to focus on the finish line." 

"I came here to win a stage, so it's a great start to the week. Tomorrow and Wednesday I have two more chances. If I can do well again, I will go for the points jersey. In the final couple of stages I might go for an early breakaway."

Viviani has more objectives after the Eneco Tour. "The Vattenfal Cyclassics Hamburg and the Grand Prix de Plouay are also on my programme. I want to go to both races to win and then focus on the world championships."