Etixx - Quick-Step rider Michal Kwiatkowski put on his Polish TT Champion jersey at Paris-Nice, and went on to win the 6.7km prologue by less than a second. His 7'40" time (52.435 km/h) means the UCI World Road Champion will put on a yellow jersey for the 192km road stage on Monday.

Tony Martin, German TT Champion, rounded out the podium in 3rd (+07"). Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) was 2nd.

"I'm more or less happy with my performance and am also happy for Michal winning today," Martin said. "Michal was super strong and he deserves this victory. I'm happy the yellow jersey is with Etixx - Quick-Step after the first day.

"As for me, I'm not just here for the prologue. I am also ready for the mountains. I didn't make a special preparation just for the prologue. So, we will see. But I was happy with my power and the result.

"We will now focus on the next stages. The flat stages are first and at Paris-Nice there is always a risk of crosswind and crashes. So, ​even the flat stages are not so easy. I am then looking forward to the mountain stages. I'm curious how I can perform there.

"Also, of course, with Michal as race leader we have two riders who can do well in this Paris-Nice overall. We'll see what we can do but morale is high with two of us on the podium today."