Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) emerged victorious on the first stage of the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco on Monday.

The 24-year-old took the win in a sprint after the hilly stage had reduced the main field to around 50 riders.

The 162.7 kilometre stage around Bilbao featured three categorised climbs, with an ascent of the Alto de Morga before the peloton tackled the Alto del Vivero twice.

Brian Bulgac (LottoNL-Jumbo), Omar Fraile (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Anthony Turgis (Cofidis) went clear early in the stage and built up an advantage of around five minutes, but that was reduced to just over three minutes with 60 kilometres to go.

While Bulgac and Turgis were caught by the bunch with 35 kilometres remaining, Fraile launched a solo attack and stayed clear until the final climb of the day.

However, with the tempo in the peloton increasing all the time, the lone rider was never going to stay away for the entire stage and it soon came back together in time for the finish.

Several riders, including Philippe Gilbert (BMC) attempted to break clear in the final kilometres, but Tony Martin's (Etixx-QuickStep) lead-out for world champion Michal Kwiatkowski was too powerful for any to make their attacks stick.

Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) was the first to start his sprint, followed by Kwiatkowski, but Matthews was too strong for both riders and came from behind to take continue the fine run of form which saw him finish third at Milan-San Remo.

Second-placed Kwiatkowski was pleased despite being pipped in the final metres.

"I'm happy with today's stage," Kwiatkowski said. "It was a hard final with the 2nd category climb where we didn't reach the summit until 13.5 km before the finish.

"It was not so easy to control because there were guys trying to escape on that climb, but the team rode perfectly. I had Tony, Carlos Verona, and Petr Vakoc with me in the front group.

"I also had my other teammates put me into perfect position going into the climb, as it was basically a sprint to get to the front before then.

"It was really nervous all the way to the line. Everyone wanted to show themselves as they usually do in the opening stage of this kind of race.

"I am happy with my 2nd place on a day like today. I waited a bit too long before launching, but sprinting is also not my top skill and Matthews is a strong guy for the sprints. He deserved the win." 

The Vuelta a Pais Vasco continues on Tuesday with Stage 2, a 175.4km race from Bilbao to Vitoria-Gasteiz.