France’s Paul Magnier claimed the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia after a huge crash during a bunch sprint.

The 22-year-old Soudal-Quick Step rider claimed his first Grand Tour win and the overall leader’s pink jersey, edging out Norway’s Tobias Lund Andresen of Decathlon-CMA CGM by inches, with Britain’s Ethan Vernon third for NSN Cycling.

After 147km of racing in Bulgaria, where the Italian three-week event is holding its first three stages, the whole peloton arrived in Burgas under grey skies for the sprinters to fight for victory.

But with 700 metres to go the road narrowed, and the compression meant about 20 riders collided, crashing heavily and causing some spectators to flee as they hit the barrier.

The riders and broken bikes lying in the road caused a blockade, leaving just 11 competitors to fight it out.

Favourite for the ciclamino points jersey, Italian Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek was part of the group, but unleashed his awesome power too late to catch the top three, finishing fourth.

“We knew the narrow road would be tricky. It’s my first time sprinting against this big sprinter [Milan] – I’m super happy to win,” said Magnier.

Fellow sprinter Dylan Groenewegen appeared to be injured in the crash, riding over the line gingerly.

None of the main contenders for the overall pink jersey, including Denmark’s two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, were affected and crossed the line without losing time thanks to the 3km rule, which allows riders caught up in incidents within that distance to avoid a time penalty.