Starting seventh on the road, Jarvis quickly went to work and closed in on his rival, using the opening climb to his advantage. But it was clear he wasn‰Ûªt going to have things all his own way as Lettenbichler, Young, Blazusiak and Alfredo Gomez kept him honest.
During the afternoon the leading group broke up, with Jarvis, Lettenbichler and Young pulling clear. A technical problem saw Blazusiak drop back, losing positions as he fought to overcome his issue, while Walker sat steady in sixth.
On corrected time it was Jarvis who took the opening day win by one minute and 12 seconds from Young, with Lettenbichler only one minute further back in third. With Mario Roman (Sherco -ESP) fourth and Gomez fifth, the top five are separated by less than four minutes.
