Slovakian sensation Peter Sagan of Liquigas showboated his way to a Stage 1 victory at his first Tour de France, just ahead of yellow-jersey holder Fabian Cancellera.
Winner of a combined 9 stages at the Tour of California and the Tour of Switzerland, Sagan was a pre-stage favorite to win the stage, which had a short, steep uphill finish.
Following an early attack by Frenchman Sylvan Chavanel, RadioShack's Cancellera countered with a devastating acceleration that only Sagan could follow.
Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky bridged the gap and caught up to Cancellera and Sagan, making it a three-man contest for the finish.
With Cancellera looking to extend his lead in overall general classification, the Swiss rider pulled Sagan and Boasson Hagen up the final hill towards the finishing straightaway.
After being pulled by Cancellera, with only meters to go, Sagan accelerated to the line ahead of the other two riders, showboating for the TV cameras by putting his arms to his side and giving the cameras a quirky look.
"It's just for fun," Sagan said after the race about his showboat move.
It was perhaps Sagan's biggest victory in his young career, becoming the youngest rider to win a Tour de France stage since American Lance Armstrong in 1993.
Cancellera's strategy of pulling the other two riders to gain seconds did not pay off for the RadioShack rider. BMC's Philippe Gilbert, another pre-stage favorite, accelerated towards the end giving a chase group the same time as Sagan.
Cancellera did successfully defend his yellow-jersey for another day, which he earned in the prologue with an outstanding time trial effort.
"I thought attacking would be the best defense and 500 meters from the line I wasn't going to slow down," Cancellera said after the stage.
Defending Tour de France champion Cadel Evans of Team BMC and Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky, both finished in the chase group with Gilbert, giving them the same time as Sagan
Some of the general classification favorites faltered on the day including Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner, who both lost time on the day by being caught behind chase groups up the steep finish.
Stage 2 tomorrow will be a relatively flat stage from Vise to Tournai, which will favor sprinters like Mark Cavendish of Team Sky, Andre Greipel of Omega Pharma Lotto, and Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Sharp. Sagan will have a chance tomorrow as well, but will have his work cut out for him against the pure sprinters in the race.