Pedersen (right) battles with Mathew Goss at the finishing line

Pedersen also takes the yellow jersey - by two seconds - ahead of Goss after his win gave him a 10-second bonus.

Goss sparkled in the sprints along the 162km route, winning all three, for which he earned a nine-second bonus.

Britain's Russell Downing was sixth, with compatriots Mark Cavendish and Jeremy Hunt finishing seventh and 10th.

The peloton finished at Castle Douglas two minutes and 51 seconds behind Pedersen, who completed the route in four hours, three minutes and 23 seconds.

After the action got under way at 1015 BST from Glasgow Green, Pedersen, Pasamontes and Goss made an initial break at 24km and by the 38km mark the trio had established a four-minute lead.

Blustery conditions and poor weather helped the break as the chasing pack toiled.

The riders pass Glasgow's famous Doulton Fountain

But Great Britain team leader Roger Hammond, who finished 11th, said the peloton only had itself to blame for letting the three riders get so far ahead.

"Because there weren't many teams up there, everyone just left it to everyone else," said Hammond.

"Quick Step left it to T-Mobile, T-Mobile left it to CSC and it was only with 30km to go they thought they'd better do something."

The gap grew to as much as 11 minutes before the peloton began to eat into the lead on the final climb - but it could only close to within three minutes.

Last year's winner Nick Nuyens finished in 15th place among a large peloton, along with the likes of Baden Cooke, Axel Merckx and Tom Boonen.

Pedersen also set the pace in the King of the Mountains and points standings.

"I was pleased to get in the break so early," said Pedersen.

"I am delighted to be in the yellow jersey and we aim to keep it for the rest of the week."

Meanwhile, T-Mobile's Andreas Kloden - who is leaving the team at the end of the season - abandoned midway through the stage.

The race features six stages, starting in Scotland, before moving onto the North West, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, the South East and central London.

Stage one result:

1. Martin Pedersen (Den) CSC 4hrs 3mins 23 secs
2. Mathew Goss (Aus) South Australia.com-AIS at 2secs
3. Luis Pasamontes (Spa) Unibet.com at 5secs
4. Francesco Chicchi (Ita) QuickStep-Innergetic at 2mins 51secs
5. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) QuickStep-Innergetic same time