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Harelbeke - Former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski won the E3 Harelbeke one-day race on Friday ahead of Peter Sagan.
Kwiatkowski and Sagan rode the final 20km ahead of the pack before Kwiatkowski launched the two-man sprint with less than 300m to go and took victory with a comfortable margin.
Sagan, the reigning world champion, was overpowered in the final stretch and settled for second place ahead of Ian Stannard.
"I knew I had really good legs today and I had to go for the win, there was no other option," Kwiatkowski said after sealing a second consecutive victory for Team Sky at the E3, following Geraint Thomas' win last year.
"Me and Peter did a really good race. I knew I had to go with a long sprint because his kick is bigger than mine, and that worked out. I didn't look back and went full gas to the finish."
One-day classics specialist Fabian Cancellara, who had mechanical problems in the race, fought back into contention to end fourth.
Riders observed a minute of silence at the start of the 206km race in memory of victims of the Brussels airport and metro bombings.
What a win that was from @michalkwiatek at #RBE3H! Read full reaction in our report: ?? > https://t.co/W8xLtNn8Xk pic.twitter.com/Q9SAThxw0a
— Team Sky (@TeamSky) March 25, 2016
