"The guys in front of me hit a traffic sign and I crashed with them. Looking at them I can say that I was lucky."

Those were the words for Astana's Mikel Landa after stage one at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco - the Tour of the Basque Country.

Landa crashed but was given the same time as stage winner Michael Matthews of Australia. Teammates Valerio Agnoli and Luis Leon Sanchez both finished in the top 25 of the mass sprint.

Landa suffered a virus over the winter and started his 2015 season slowly, but has passed medical tests fully and will be ready to start his main goal of the year at the Giro d'Italia in May.

Rein Taaramäe and Landa both attacked the lead peloton in the third and final climb of stage one to disrupt the race rhythm and create opportunities for the team, but the peloton regrouped on the long, fast descent in the final 10km into Bilbao.