New Zealand rider, Corbin Strong has won the opening stage of the UCI Skoda Tour Luxembourg today.

Strong sprinted his way to the stage 1 win for his Israel-Premier Tech team, in the five-stage race.

After a fast day of short, steep climbs, Strong sprinted to an emphatic win after his team covered all moves and dictated the pace of the peloton.

After the main breakaway was caught before the last climb, Michael Woods chased down a late break and once Strong moved into position on the last corner, he proved to be the fastest in the sprint.

It is his second victory for Israel-Premier Tech after winning a stage of the Tour of Britain last year, and he was second in the Grand Prix of Quebec recently and on the podium on a stage in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya.

“It’s a really nice feeling winning, the team rode exceptionally today,” Corbin said. “I’ve been in really good shape all season, but never quite pulled off the victory, so it’s a really good feeling to get it today.”

“It was a really good stage for me, I knew I would always be on the limit, but if I could suffer and be there at the finish, I would have a good chance at being the fastest guy there. It definitely wasn’t easy and I had to dig deep in the last climb, but thankfully I was in a good position, and the guys did a perfect job all day and I was able to finish it off.”

Tomorrow’s second of five stages is 184km from Mondorf-Les Bains to Mamer.