Marcel Kittel praised his teammates for finding the perfect position for him to claim victory in the opening stage of the Tour de France.
Kittle will wear the Tour's yellow jersey on Sunday after timing his sprint finish to perfection to beat rivals Peter Sagan and Ramunas Navardauskas on the line.
His triumph was helped by a crash in the final straight as Britain's Mark Cavendish collided with Simon Gerrans and Bryan Coquard. Cavendish completed the race but has a dislocated shoulder.
"I feel sorry for him," Kittel. "It's something no one wants to see."
Sunday's second stage will again be in England, from York to Sheffield.
Kittel said his teammates' protection over the final stretch was crucial.
"We had a very good team, we could do it how we wanted, that was really, really important for the victory," he said.
"If the crash had not happened Mark Cavendish would for sure have been there, so we were also a bit lucky."
Safe passage over three climbs contributed to victory.
"It was perfect for me as a sprinter today," Kittle said. "We could really control the race."