The Team Jumbo-Visma rider has enjoyed an impressive resumption to the cycling season by winning the Strade Bianche and Milano-San Remo in recent weeks.

His winning run continued at the conclusion of today’s opening stage, which saw riders tackle a hilly 197 kilometre route from Clermont-Ferrand to Saint-Christo-en-Jarez.

Van Aert’s Jumbo-Visma team impressively controlled the race ahead of the penultimate climb of the day, where they caught the remaining breakaway riders.

The final climb notably saw four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome and multiple world champion Peter Sagan dropped from the main group, adding to doubts over the former’s place on Team Ineos’ squad for the upcoming Grand Tour.

Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran launched an attack on the climb, but Slovenia’s Primož Roglič and Dutch star Tom Dumoulin regained control to set the finish up for van Aert.

Van Aert produced an impressive sprint on the uphill finish to take the stage victory in a time of 5 hours, 27min and 42sec.

The Belgian was followed across the line by South Africa’s Daryl Impey and Colombia’s Egan Bernal, who were among the leading pack to be awarded the same time as the stage winner.

Van Aert assumes the early race lead, four seconds ahead of Impey.

Bernal is six seconds behind the leader, but the stage marked a strong start for the Team Ineos rider as he builds towards his Tour de France title defence.

Two summit finishes are now set to follow at the Col de Porte and Saint-Martin-de-Belleville on stages two and three.

The International Cycling Union WorldTour race will conclude with back-to-back mountain stages finishing in Megève.

The five-stage event is expected to be key for riders’ preparation for the Tour de France, the first Grand Tour of the disrupted season which is scheduled to take place from August 29 to September 20.