Mark Cavendish of Omega Pharma Quick Step won the opening stage of the Amgem Tour Of California.
The race attracted some big names including 2012 Tour De France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins and the British Road Race Champion Mark Cavendish who signed on for the opening stage of 198kms which started and finished in Sacremento.
Tom Leezer (Belkin), Isaac Bolivar (UnitedHealthcare), Charles Planet (Team Novo Nordisk), Will Routley (Optum), Matt Cooke (Jamis - Hagens Berman) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Bissell Development Team) got into the main break of the day and were 4.40 ahead after 61kms.
Dutchman Tom Leezer took the second sprint but did not challenge the King Of The Mountains climb which Canadian Will Routley took to ensure that he was in the jersey until the start of stage three as the second stage is a time trial.
Giant-Shimano and Omega Pharma-QuickStep led the peloton as the gap came down to 2.40 with 69kms to go.
That triggered off an attack by an eighteen man chasing group which included Phinney, Van Avermaet, Boonen, Cavendish, Renshaw, Trentin, Irizar, Stuyven, Wiggins, Rowe, Hofland, De Kort, Dempster Schillinger and Goss but not Peter Sagan, another race favourite. They caught the escapers and took over control of the race with a twenty second lead with 27kms to go.
Five kilometres later, they were caught and four riders in Clarke and Summerhill, Cannondale's Ted King and Ben King of Garmin Sharp attacked but were soon brought back.
Attacks were coming all the time with Greg Daniel of Blissel, Kiel Reijnen of UnitedHealthCare and Jacob Rathe of Jelly Belly leading going into the final fifteen kilometres.
The final circuit was three two mile laps around Sacremento and as the trio started it, they had a lead of ten seconds.
Reijnen went for it and broke away and had a twenty second lead with six kilometres remaining.
With a lap to go, the American was caught and Omega Pharma Quick Step took to the front.
Cavendish and John Degenkolb of Giant Shimano went for the sprint and it was down to a photo finish as to who had won in a time of 4.44.17.
It was Mark Cavendish who was given the win and the gold jersey as well as the points jersey ahead of Degenkolb and Hofland.
The second stage is a 20km time trial in Folsum.