Fernando Gaviria showed why he can become the future of Grand Tour sprinting on Saturday as he edged out Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel for victory on stage one of the Tour de France.
Ahead of the opening day of the 2018 edition of cycling's most iconic race all eyes were on the usual suspects for a sprint victory, but it was young prospect Gaviria who stole the show.
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Sagan and Kittel have 22 wins on the Tour to their name and yet there was nothing they could do to stop Gaviria on the packed streets of Fontenay-le-Comte.
A largely uneventful opening stage burst into life in the closing 10 kilometres and it was the final metres where Gaviria added to his burgeoning reputation.
His Etixx Quick-Step team-mates provided a perfect lead-out train and, despite the presence of sprinting royalty, Gaviria pulled away to become the first debutant to win the opening stage of the Tour in 14 years.
With the likes of Sagan, Kittel and Mark Cavendish – who was not even in contention on day one – all coming to the latter stages of their career, a new kid on the block looks ready to take over.
His acceleration away from his rivals showed there is no reason why Gaviria should be intimidated by Sagan et al, and the fact that he had time to sit up and celebrate when crossing the line showed how comfortable his victory was.
"The sprint was difficult because there was a lot of roundabouts in the final stages and there was a bit of a cross wind, but the team put me in a good position," he told reporters.
"In the last two kilometres I said 'go' because I had good legs. The team did a really good job."
At his post-race media conference, Gaviria added: "It's been an awesome day, I've dreamt of this victory and the possibility of taking the yellow jersey.
"On top of that, beating Sagan is always important, he's one of the strongest riders in the peloton and an awesome colleague."
Before Gaviria's moment in the spotlight there were problems for Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana as they lost time following a crash and puncture respectively, while Richie Porte and Adam Yates were also left slightly adrift.
However, the day belonged to a 23-year-old from La Ceja, Gaviria adding Tour stage winner to the Points Classification he won at the 2017 Giro d'Italia.
It is the latest in a string of impressive performances from Gaviria on the world stage, the Colombian having already won the sprinters' jersey at the Tour of California this year.
His victory will see the hype continue to grow and, if the Colombian media's reaction is anything to go by, put him on the same level as national icon Quintana.
