World road race champion Tom Boonen won the first stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race on Monday to take the overall lead from defending champion Bobby Julich.
US veteran Julich won the opening prologue, a 4.8km time trial, on Sunday to finish with a three-second lead on Belgium's Boonen, who was fifth.
The 25-year-old Boonen won the first stage of the race last year, and used the impetus from his impressive time trial performance to help him grab a double success at the finish.
Boonen, who rides for Quick Step, comfortably held off Australian sprinter Allan Davis after a home finish on a slight incline, with Spaniard Francisco Ventoso finishing in third place.
Davis, of the Liberty Seguros team, had tried to anticipate Boonen's final push but had to stop pedalling suddenly when Boonen's lead-out man, American Guido Trenti, got in his way.
The Belgian superstar admitted the cold conditions and occasional flurries of snow had made it a difficult day in the saddle.
"The conditions were very difficult, but I had ticked off this stage and it's great to have finally won it," said Boonen, who thanks to the bonus seconds at the finish line now leads 34-year-old Julich by seven seconds in the general classification.
"It's good for the team's morale and now we'll be able to sit back a bit during the rest of the week. We're not looking to win the general classification but that doesn't mean we won't be going out to win," said Boonen.
Christophe Laurent and Stephane Auge were the main protagonists of the 193km stage between Villemandeur and here, the French duo -- former teammates at the Jean Delatour team -- breaking away from the bunch after just 60km of racing.
The lead was built to over 10 minutes but their 126km-long effort ended after the pace of Boonen's Quick Step team, who were leading the chasing peloton, helped to close the gap.
Boonen, who last season counted three prestigious victories at Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and the world championships among his many victories -- used his sprinting power again to hold off Davis and grab his eighth win of the season.
Despite the undulating nature of Tuesday's second stage, over 200km from Cerilly to Belleville, Boonen could still realistically aim for another stage victory.
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