Paris-Nice begins with a blink and you'll miss it 2.4km prologue. We'll have to hope the riders know where the finish line is though, because there are no lines across the road to tell them.
These riders are the strongest:
Prologue
Leung
82
Dennis
81
Vlatos
81
Kittel
81
Andersen
81
Kemboi
81
Paillot
80
Yatsevich
80
Stoltz
80
Sütterlin
80
Howson
80
Viviani
79
Hepburn
79
Hamza
79
Kung
78
Prado
78
Boaro
78
Dumoulin
78
Vorobev
78
Meyer
78
Luxembourg champ Tom Wirtgen kicks off the race.
Chun Wing Leung is only the 4th rider out, and he sets the benchmark - 2 seconds faster.
Yannick Stoltz matches his time, but is given the lead!
From prologue specialists to two who can ride the long ones just as well. But Marcel Kittel and Pnagiotis Vlatos can't match them, 2 and 3 seconds slower.
Anton Vorobev goes second. Meaning the same time as both Stoltz and Leung.
We have a new leader! Algerian Faycal Hamza. Knows how to win Tour of America prologues, and his time of 3'28 is 1 second faster than Stoltz.
Stefan Kung goes second! Strong time for him, all-but matching Hamza.
Some more riders with good rides keep on coming through, updating the lower half of the Top 10 at the finish line.
Postlberger, Prado and Fejes.
Ganna, Dunbar and Boaro too.
And here come the Aussies, all on good rides.
Cameron Meyer is 2 seconds off Hamza.
Michael Hepburn and Rohan Dennis both just 1 second off, slotting in to 5th and 6th between Vorobev and Leung.
Lars Boom is the fastest for Aegon today - but that is just 2 seconds off for him. Earlier Dumoulin and Paillot had both finished off the pace.
Still Hamza holds that fastest time, but it's almost taken from him!
Jasha Sütterlin is less than a second out, but must settle for 3rd.
We're into the last rider from all teams, and two remaining threats are Soren Kragh Andersen and Kiril Yatsevich.
But both finish 3 seconds down.
Jack Bobridge is the strongest against the clock of the overall contenders. And he does look to have put time into all of his long term rivals today - but is 4 seconds off Hamza.
It's surely going to be an African win, as the only rider left to challenge is Salem Kemboi.
But it's 4 seconds down for him too.
Faycal Hamza has won the Paris-Nice opener!
Chun Wing Leung was the fastest U25 rider.
All riders within 21 seconds, but some of the fastest sprinters only just kept within that 20 second boundary, to maintain a chance of claiming the race lead with a win on Stage 2.
1
Faycal Hamza
T-Mobile
3'28
2
Stefan Kung
Generali
s.t.
3
Jasha Sütterlin
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
4
Yannick Stoltz
Evonik - ELKO
+ 1
5
Anton Vorobev
Team Tinkoff
s.t.
6
Michael Hepburn
Podium Ambition
s.t.
7
Rohan Dennis
Bennelong - Mitchelton
s.t.
8
Chun Wing Leung
SPAR - Siam Cement
s.t.
9
Manuele Boaro
Gazelle
+ 2
10
Cameron Meyer
Team Tinkoff
s.t.
11
Lars Boom
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
12
Marcel Kittel
Valio - Viking Genetics
+ 3
13
Kiril Yatsevich
Team Tinkoff
s.t.
14
Lukas Postlberger
Podium Ambition
s.t.
15
Gabor Fejes
Gazelle
s.t.
16
Ignacio Jesus Prado
Moser - Sygic
s.t.
17
Leonid Krasnov
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
s.t.
18
Filippo Ganna
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
19
Eddie Dunbar
Repsol - Netflix
s.t.
20
Ian Bibby
Gazelle
s.t.
21
Josh Atkins
Farfetch Pro Cycling
s.t.
22
Soren Kragh Andersen
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
23
Ingvar Omarsson
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
24
Tom Wirtgen
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
25
Florian Stork
Team Puma - SAP
+ 4
26
Rasmus Quaade
Podium Ambition
s.t.
27
Panagiotis Vlatos
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
28
Jack Bobridge
Bennelong - Mitchelton
s.t.
29
Salem Kemboi
Farfetch Pro Cycling
s.t.
30
Romain Sicard
Air France - KLM
s.t.
31
Mathieu van der Poel
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
32
Joey Rosskopf
Generali
s.t.
33
Sonomtseren Delgerbayar
SPAR - Siam Cement
s.t.
34
Maurits Lammertink
eBuddy
s.t.
35
Michail Kortsidakis
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
36
Leigh Howard
Bennelong - Mitchelton
s.t.
37
Steven Kalf
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
38
Hampus Anderberg
Aker - MOT
s.t.
39
Omer Goldstein
eBuddy
s.t.
40
Tom Dumoulin
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
41
Giulio Ciccone
Generali
s.t.
42
Indulis Bekmanis
Evonik - ELKO
s.t.
43
Remi Cavagna
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
44
Martins Blums
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
45
Erik Baska
Moser - Sygic
s.t.
46
Domenic Weinstein
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
47
Edoardo Zardini
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
48
Elia Viviani
Generali
+ 5
49
Giorgi Nareklishvili
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
50
Daniel Oss
Aker - MOT
s.t.
51
Damien Howson
eBuddy
s.t.
52
Thomas De Gendt
Gazelle
s.t.
53
Yoann Paillot
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
54
Jan Ghyselinck
Generali
s.t.
55
Mathias Krigbaum
Farfetch Pro Cycling
s.t.
56
Niklas Eg
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
57
Elia Favilli
T-Mobile
s.t.
58
Jonathan Castroviejo
Repsol - Netflix
s.t.
59
Michael Boros
Moser - Sygic
s.t.
60
Viktor Manakov
Team Tinkoff
s.t.
61
Armands Becis
Evonik - ELKO
s.t.
62
Michel Koch
Air France - KLM
s.t.
63
Airidas Videika
Aker - MOT
s.t.
64
Neilson Powless
Gazelle
+ 6
65
Yevgeniy Gidich
SPAR - Siam Cement
s.t.
66
Aydar Zakarin
Team Tinkoff
s.t.
67
Nils Politt
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
68
Matti Manninen
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
69
Robin van der Hugenhaben
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
70
Sasu Helme
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
71
Gabriel Marin
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
72
Jaako Hänninen
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
73
Mark Dzamastagic
Evonik - ELKO
s.t.
74
Guillaume Martin
Air France - KLM
s.t.
75
Elie Gesbert
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
76
Abolfazl Gilanipoor
Isostar - LimeBike
s.t.
77
Robin Carpenter
Generali
s.t.
78
Julien Bernard
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
79
Simon Yates
Desigual
+ 7
80
Andrei Nechita
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
81
Oscar Riesebeek
Evonik - ELKO
s.t.
82
Patrick Konrad
Gazelle
s.t.
83
Joni Kanerva
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
84
Jacopo Mosca
Repsol - Netflix
s.t.
85
Michal Schlegel
Moser - Sygic
s.t.
86
Krists Neilands
Evonik - ELKO
s.t.
87
Burr Ho
Aker - MOT
s.t.
88
Aleksey Rybalkin
Team Tinkoff
s.t.
89
Thurakit Boonratanathanakorn
SPAR - Siam Cement
s.t.
90
Emanuel Buchmann
T-Mobile
s.t.
91
Maxime Daniel
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
92
Matthew Goss
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
s.t.
93
Thanawut Sanikwathi
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
94
Ian Boswell
eBuddy
s.t.
95
Julian Alaphilippe
Podium Ambition
s.t.
96
Jhonatan Restrepo
T-Mobile
s.t.
97
Aviv Yechezkel
Desigual
+ 8
98
Cristian Raileanu
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
99
Trond Hakon Trondsen
Aker - MOT
s.t.
100
Sean De Bie
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
101
Aidan Van Niekerk
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
102
Leo Vincent
Desigual
s.t.
103
Logan Owen
Podium Ambition
s.t.
104
Patrick Lane
Bennelong - Mitchelton
s.t.
105
Valentin Madouas
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
106
Lluis Mas
Repsol - Netflix
s.t.
107
Rhys Gillett
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
108
Vyacheslav Kuznetsov
Isostar - LimeBike
s.t.
109
Xuban Errazkin
Desigual
s.t.
110
Gasper Katrasnik
Isostar - LimeBike
s.t.
111
Cheng Ji
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
s.t.
112
Sjoerd Bax
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
113
Martin Grashev
Podium Ambition
s.t.
114
Cameron Bayly
Bennelong - Mitchelton
s.t.
115
Matteo Trentin
T-Mobile
s.t.
116
Jo Kogstad Ringheim
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
117
Jeroen Meijers
eBuddy
+ 9
118
Adrien Petit
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
119
Lukas Meiler
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
120
Amund Grondahl Jansen
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
121
Sean McKenna
Moser - Sygic
s.t.
122
Christian Bertilsson
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
123
Jack Burke
Desigual
s.t.
124
Mike Teunissen
Gazelle
s.t.
125
Janos Pelikan
EA Vesuvio
+ 10
126
Cristian Rodriguez
Repsol - Netflix
s.t.
127
Hayden McCormick
Bennelong - Mitchelton
s.t.
128
Tesfom Okbamariam
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
s.t.
129
Salvatore Puccio
Air France - KLM
s.t.
130
Alexey Tsatevich
Desigual
s.t.
131
Romain Le Roux
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
s.t.
132
Keagan Girdlestone
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
133
Hugo Hofstetter
Desigual
s.t.
134
Charalampas Kastrantas
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
135
Michael Gogl
Farfetch Pro Cycling
s.t.
136
Tim Ariesen
eBuddy
s.t.
137
Sep Vanmarcke
Repsol - Netflix
s.t.
138
Geraint Thomas
Podium Ambition
s.t.
139
Adam Phelan
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 11
140
Jan Bakelants
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
s.t.
141
Simone Ponzi
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
142
Matej Vysna
Moser - Sygic
s.t.
143
Sven Nooytens
Evonik - ELKO
s.t.
144
Juan Van Heerden
Team Tinkoff
s.t.
145
Jaoa Costa
SPAR - Siam Cement
s.t.
146
Cyril Gautier
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
147
Soufiane Haddi
Aker - MOT
s.t.
148
Nicholas Schultz
Bennelong - Mitchelton
+ 12
149
Jordan Schleck
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
150
Thiago Duarte Nardin
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
151
David Rosch
Air France - KLM
s.t.
152
Matej Mohoric
Isostar - LimeBike
s.t.
153
Diego Ulissi
Generali
s.t.
154
Jesse Kaislavuo
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
155
Varsham Darbinyan
SPAR - Siam Cement
s.t.
156
Jodok Salzmann
Farfetch Pro Cycling
+ 13
157
Peeter Tarvis
Isostar - LimeBike
s.t.
158
Clement Koretzky
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
159
Andrea Guardini
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
160
Takeaki Amezawa
Aker - MOT
s.t.
161
Jernej Svab
Repsol - Netflix
+ 14
162
Sandis Eislers
SPAR - Siam Cement
+ 15
163
Rick Zabel
Desigual
s.t.
164
Jay McCarthy
Farfetch Pro Cycling
s.t.
165
Patrick Olesen
Air France - KLM
s.t.
166
Gaspar Goncalves
T-Mobile
s.t.
167
Eliot Lietaer
Air France - KLM
s.t.
168
Marco Tizza
Farfetch Pro Cycling
+ 16
169
Dylan Teuns
Generali
+ 17
170
Geert Van der Sanden
Isostar - LimeBike
s.t.
171
Nacer Bouhanni
SPAR - Siam Cement
s.t.
172
Daniel Vesely
Aegon - Lavazza
+ 18
173
Nihal Silva
Aker - MOT
s.t.
174
Maximillian Schachmann
Indosat Ooredoo - ANZ
+ 19
175
Michael Van Stayen
Evonik - ELKO
s.t.
176
Jens Keukeleire
Podium Ambition
+ 20
177
Clenne Morvan Moulingui
Grieg - Maersk
+ 21
U25
1
Chun Wing Leung
SPAR - Siam Cement
3'29
2
Filippo Ganna
Team Puma - SAP
+ 2
3
Eddie Dunbar
Repsol - Netflix
s.t.
4
Soren Kragh Andersen
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
5
Tom Wirtgen
EA Vesuvio
s.t.
6
Florian Stork
Team Puma - SAP
+ 3
7
Salem Kemboi
Farfetch Pro Cycling
s.t.
8
Mathieu van der Poel
Aegon - Lavazza
s.t.
9
Michail Kortsidakis
Festina - OAKA
s.t.
10
Steven Kalf
Fablok - Bank BGZ
s.t.
11
Hampus Anderberg
Aker - MOT
s.t.
12
Omer Goldstein
eBuddy
s.t.
13
Giulio Ciccone
Generali
s.t.
14
Remi Cavagna
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
15
Martins Blums
Valio - Viking Genetics
s.t.
16
Erik Baska
Moser - Sygic
s.t.
17
Domenic Weinstein
Team Puma - SAP
s.t.
18
Mathias Krigbaum
Farfetch Pro Cycling
+ 4
19
Niklas Eg
Grieg - Maersk
s.t.
20
Airidas Videika
Aker - MOT
s.t.
Incidentally, this was a very weird stage to report. Riders ended up clocking up very long rides after the finish, all riding many laps of an ~12km circuit.