Sutton followed the wheel of Omega Pharma-Lotto's Vicente Reynes as the two broke away from the bunch over the winding run to the finish before edging ahead of the Spaniard over the final 30 metres. Sutton, who won Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in February, was quick to praise the efforts of his teammates.
"For me it's a dream come true to win a stage at a Grand Tour," he said following the victory. "We don't exactly have the perfect lead-out train here but what we do have is strength.
"Kurt's [Asle Arvesen] the big ‘El Capitano' and he was looking after us all day and told us when we needed to get to the front; he was a big help to me. It was really myself and Brad [Wiggins] who didn't have to go back to the car which was perfect.
"Then I was with Bradley and he took me up the outside. I then came flying round the roundabout with about 2.5km to go. I had good speed and was on Thomas Lofkvist's wheel so I just yelled at him ‘Go!'. He looked back, saw it was me and then just drilled it straight up the right-hand side and took me right to the front, positioning me perfectly.
"I thought ‘oh this is a long way to go' and I looked back and no one was there. So to win today and to deliver it for all of Team Sky is a dream come true – I can't believe it."
The win also earned Sutton the points jersey.
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Front of mind for the Australian, was the absence of Team Sky soigneur, Txema González who died of sepsis after falling ill at the Vuelta in 2010.
"The one person I and the whole team really want to dedicate this win to is Txema," the 26-year-old told the Team Sky website. "He's gone but he's not forgotten."
"He loved this race and I really wish he was here with us. He'll forever be in our thoughts and I'm sure he'll be watching over us."
