Julian Alaphilippe won the opening stage of the Tour of the Basque Country ©Getty Images

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe won the opening stage of the Tour of the Basque Country after coming out on top in a two-man sprint.

The 25-year-old did enough to triumph at the end of a hilly 162.1 kilometre stage which started and finished in Zarautz in Spain.

Alaphilippe, riding for Quick-Step Floors, got the better of Slovenia's LottoNL-Jumbo rider Primož Roglič after the two broke away from the field following the last ascent.

The winner clocked a time of 4 hours 17min 46sec to claim the early lead in the general classification, with Roglič, a silver medallist in the time trial at last year's World Championships, ending on the same time.

Spain's Pello Bilbao, of Astana, led the next bunch of finishers who all came in 23 seconds behind.

Primož Roglič came out second-best following the two-man sprint ©Getty Images
Primož Roglič came out second-best following the two-man sprint ©Getty Images

A breakaway group of six riders had earlier been reeled in on the penultimate climb as the International Cycling Union World Tour race got underway.

Today's result is another victory on Spanish soil for Alaphilippe who won a stage of the Vuelta a España last year.

Stage two will begin in Zarautz tomorrow with more climbing in store on a 166.7 km route to Bermeo.

Six stages will be held in all with the race concluding on Saturday (April 7).

A time trial on Thursday (April 5) is part of the itinerary.