29th June 2013 06:13
Video interviews of the athletes from Day 1 can be viewed here.
This event has a new look to it this year with the competition outcome now decided on the total of the joint men's and women's team points.
And it was Mayer who was in charge for France who lead overall after this first day with 17, 954 points from the Melnychenko-inspired Ukraine with 17, 794 and Russia - who won the men's and women's Cup 12 months ago - third with 17,546.
The best three scores from each team count and in the individual event, Mayer leads the decathlon and Ukraine's Hanna Melnychenko is in front in the heptathlon.
Mayer won silver in the heptathlon in Göteborg three months ago as Melnychenko took bronze in the pentathlon and their consistency remained throughout a warm afternoon of 17 degrees Celsius in Estonia.
Mayer has 4284 points from Eduard Mikhan, of Belarus, second with 4284, and Estonia's Kaarel Joevali third with 4127.
'I have lots of points and I can do something good, maybe I can do 8500,' said Mayer. 'I was really satisfied with my long jump and it was a long time for a personal best.'
It was a combination of fine French performances from Mayer, Jeremy Lelievre, who is sixth in the individual event with 4072, and Florian Geffrouais, who is just a point behind him in seventh.
But it is all about the mixture of men and women and in the heptathlon, France's Antoinette Nana Djimou is sixth with 3592 as Melnychenko leads with 3794 from Poland's Karolina Tyminska with 3671 and Ukraine's Alina Fyodorova, who is third overnight with 3613.
Rokhaya Mbaye, 13th with 3464, and Marisa De Aniceto, 14th with 3380, are France's other leading scorers.
It was Great Britain who started the day well.
Heat four of the men's 100m brought the quickest time when John Lane won in 10.78 and then his teammate Karal Drew won the heptathlon's 100m hurdles in 13.39.
Britain's women were missing Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill as her comeback from injury was not quite complete. She is the British record-holder at those hurdles, with 12.54 from last summer's Olympic Games in London, but Drew ensured the country still had a flying start to the day.
Ukraine won the next event in the decathlon as Vasyl Ivanytskyy triumphed with 7.78m in the long jump from Mayer, who was second with his lifetime best of 7.63m.
Geffrouais then won the shot put for France with 15.39m with Mayer in fourth with 14.95m.
The second heptathlon discipline, the high jump, proved a great event for the Ukraine as they took three of the first five places.
Fyodorova had the edge over the rest as she won with 1.90m from Russia's Uliana Aleksandrova with 1.84m.
Belarusian Yana Maksimava and Ukraine's Anastasiya Mokhnyuk shared third place with best jumps of 1.81m ahead of Melnychenko, fifth on countback, also with 1.81m.
The women's shot put was won by Tyminska with 14.48m from the first round but Melnychenko remained first overall after her eighth place in this discipline with her final effort of 13.69m took her to 2829 points.
The afternoon became even better for Tyminska as she had the quickest time of the 200m, the final women's event, crossing the line first in heat four in 23.77 from Melnychenko in 24.16. Nana Djimou was fifth overall in 24.77.
Estonia's Hendrik Lepik won the high jump with 2.13m but the man who was second was significant as Mayer extended his lead, and France's, with a best of 2.04m ahead of Italy's Simone Cairoli, who was third with the same height on countback.
France ensured they stayed top overnight as their men were superb in the 400m.
In the second heat, Lelievre won with 47.83, the fastest time in all four races.
Geffrouais won the third heat in 48.64 and in the final race, Mayer was third in 49.50.
But there was a track symmetry about this final heat as Britain's Lane, who had won the opening discipline eight hours earlier, triumphed again, in 48.07.
In the European Cup Combined Events First League in Nottwil, Switzerland, The Netherlands’ 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships heptathlon winner Eelco Sintnicolaas leads the way with 4112 points, with Spain’s Jonay Jordan second with 3908.
Another Dutch multi-events exponent, Nadine Broersen, leads in the heptathlon there with 3696 points, her score aided by a personal best Shot Put of 14.34m. Czech Republic’s Eliska Klucinova is second with 3572.
The European Cup Combined Events Second League on the Portuguese island of Madeira in Ribiera Brava sees Norway’s Lars Vikan Rise lead the decathlon with 3938 points while Romania’s Beatrice Pulu is in a commanding position in the heptathlon and leads by 390 points with 3661, after starting the day with personal bests in the first three events.
COMPLETE RESULTS