Giro d’Italia Stage 2: Marcel Kittel wins ahead of Arnaud Démare (+ highlights)

Marcel Kittel won stage two of the Giro d’Italia. A late surge from his Etixx – Quick-Step team brought him near the front and come the sprint, no-one could compete with him.

A bunch sprint was always expected at the end of the 190km stage from Arnhem to Nijmegen. Kittel, back in form after a disappointing 2015 season, was therefore a strong favourite. Even so, the apparent ease with which he opened up a gap of several bike lengths before cruising across the line sent a strong message to all of his rivals.

Stage 2 - Highlights by giroditalia

It was the German’s third win at the Giro after taking two stages in 2014. Having started the day just 11 seconds behind Tom Dumoulin, the winning time bonus means he is now just one second away from taking the maglia rosa.

Omar Fraile (Dimension Data) took the mountains jersey after leading over the first categorised climb of the race, a 1.1km slope with the gradient at times touching 11%. The Spanish rider, who was King of the Mountains in last year’s Vuelta a Espana, beat fellow breakaway rider Maarten Tjallingii (LottoNL-Jumbo) to the points despite strong local support for the Dutchman.