The win is Ewan's eighth of the season, with four coming on home soil in Australia and four in Europe, with victory also enough to secure a third leader's jersey of 2017. Ewan, 23, will take a three-second advantage into stage 2, the longest of the race, from Kielder Water & Forest Park to Blyth Boasson Hagen.
Stage 2 is again expected to feature in a sprint finish with Ewan asserting himself as the man to beat.
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