Rony Martias of Bouygues Telecom won the opening stage of the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo Ondimba in Gabon.

He beat South African Malcolm Lange (Microsoft) and team-mate Anthony Roux to the line after a sprint finish at the end of the 93.3 km stage from Akieni to Franceville.

It was a third pro victory for the 27-year-old Frenchman.

The five-day race, which features ProTour teams Bouygues Télécom and Francaise des Jeux, is the first 2.1 race of the year.

The riders face a 121km trek from Mounana to Ngouoni on Thursday.

Eurosport