Swiss rider Aurélien Clerc (Bouygues Telecom) sprinted to victory in the opening stage Friday of the Three Days of West Flanders and claimed the overall leader’s jersey in the west Belgian race.

Clerc was fastest in the 176km stage from Courtrai to Bellegem, finishing ahead of Belarussian Jevgeni Goetarovitsj (FDJeux), with Dutch rider Bobby Traksel (P3 Transfer-Batavus) coming through third.

British sprinter Mark Cavendish, who won’t start this weekend’s Paris-Nice for fear of being banned from the Manchester track world championships later this month, took fourth.

The race continues Saturday with the 180km second stage from Torhout to Handzame.