Trofeo Santanyi photo gallery

Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) won the Trofeo Santanyi on Thursday, the opening race in the four-day Challenge Mallorca.

Pelucchi won the bunch sprint ahead of new Sky signing Elia Viviani, with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) in third.

Britain's Ben Swift (Sky) placed seventh, one place ahead of German sprinter Andre Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) in the UCI 1.1-ranked race that opens the European race season.

2015 European season underway at Challenge Mallorca

Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) draws first blood with victory at 2015 European season opener; Elia Viviani and Jose Joaquin Rojas

The Challenge Mallorca continues on Friday with the Trofeo Andratx.

The four races are not part of a stage race, and teams can field different teams/riders each day. There is, however, an overall prize for the best rider at the end of the series.

Many teams use the races as part of their training camps and pre-season warm-ups on the Spanish island.