Kooij edges lively Paris-Nice opener

The 22-year-old Visma-Lease a bike rider is shaping up as one of the top sprinters in the peloton in his third win of the season and also took the overall lead of the eight-day race from the Paris region to the Riviera town of Nice.

Belgian maverick Remco Evenepoel, who is using the race as a warm-up for his tilt at the Tour de France this summer, gamely attacked the final hill to take four bonus seconds.

"Remco attacked after the climb so it was a nervous finish, but the guys protected me and lined me up," said Kooij.

"Tomorrow's another sprint stage so I'll try and keep the yellow jersey, as long as possible in fact."

Many of the pure sprinters failed to keep up the pace on the final climb and missed the final reckoning.

Evenepoel's key rival, Slovenia veteran Primoz Roglic on his first major outing since quitting Visma for Bora, had a modest ride hiding mainly in the wheels.

Monday's second stage is a flat 177.6km run from Thoiry to Montargis, with another mass bunch sprint predicted if there is no wind to create hoped for echelons in the vast agricultural plains outside Paris.

The third stage is a team time trial over 30km on Tuesday with Roglic and Evenepoel likely to shine as riders are timed individually.