Team Sky came through a tricky opening day at the Tour of Denmark to finish in the bunch as a breakaway contested the stage win.

Hard work went unrewarded for the team on the day after having five riders in a promising move early on before helping to control the race.

Lars Petter Nordhaug was full of riding and repeatedly looked to go clear as the peloton clicked off laps of a soaking wet finishing circuit in Holstebro.

In the end a dangerous move slipped clear and it was Lars Boom (Astana) who claimed victory on the opening day to move into an early race lead.

A tricky finale made the race tough to control and the six riders quickly opened out a gap on slick roads, with the peloton containing Team Sky's riders eventually finishing 39 seconds back on the flying Dutchman.

Boom had timed his attack to perfection with 1.5km to go, and with no response behind he was able to hold off Lars Bak (Lotto Soudal) and Asbjorn Kragh Andersen (Trefor-Blue Water) at the line to take an early lead.

After a strong outing at RideLondon Ben Swift had been ready for the sprint, but a combination of a late puncture and wet roads conspired to keep the Yorkshireman in the bunch.

"It was a very hectic stage from the beginning," explained Sports Director Kurt Asle Arvesen.

"A big break went after 20km and we had five guys in it. It didn't work out and other teams weren't happy behind so chased it down. This was all on really small and twisty roads. Add in the rain and all the crashes and punctures - it was a very hectic stage.

"The team did really well at the beginning and then we worked with Tinkoff-Saxo to help control the breakaway. That was caught just behind the finishing laps, and then Lars Petter tried to follow a few early moves but missed the one that went. That was a shame but sometimes these things don't work out. Ben was ready to sprint but he had a flat tyre coming into laps. So that put him back. It was one of those days where it just didn't really work out for us.

"Now we look forward. Tomorrow is another day and we'll see what we can do then."

144 riders took to the start in Struer and much of the pre-race talk was about the wind, with a long stretch along the coast overlooking the North Sea.

With riders repeatedly attempting to go clear, including at one point a break of 35 with heavy Team Sky representation, the stage was completed at a rapid pace. Eventually six riders did enough to make a move stick, but were caught ahead of the finishing circuits.

Team Sky helped to control the tempo before sitting just off the front of the bunch, with Nathan Earle leading the line while Nordhaug tried his luck late on. Making his first stage race start with the team, Alex Peters was another rider to battle back from a late puncture to finish in the bunch.