Ben Turner powered to second place on the opening stage of the Czech Tour after a strong team display across the 163km route.
The day began with an early breakaway of four riders, who quickly built an advantage of around two and a half minutes as the peloton settled into the rolling terrain.
With 40km remaining, Jack Haig moved to the front of the bunch to help control the gap, before Michal Schuran (Team United Shipping) launched a solo attack from the break as the peloton closed in on the escapees.
The attackers were finally reeled in with 20km remaining, but the aggressive racing continued. Embret Svestad-Bårdseng attacked alongside two other riders with 15km remaining, forming a small three-man break that was brought back just three kilometres later.
A series of counter-attacks followed in quick succession, with AJ August alert and reactive as the race headed towards the finish. Inside the final five kilometres, Bob Jungels drove the pace on the front before August took over to keep the team in a strong position on the front.
Ben Swift then delivered a perfectly timed lead-out in the final kilometre, dropping Turner off in ideal position for the sprint. The 27-year-old launched his effort alongside Riley Sheehan (NSN Cycling Team) and battled all the way to the line, throwing his bike at the finish to take second place.
Turner now sits second in the general classification, as well as on the points classification ahead of tomorrow's stage.