Giro d'Italia Stage 3: Marcel Kittel takes win and race lead

Marcel Kittel of Etixx-Quickstep has taken over the leadership of the Giro d'Italia after winning his second successive stage of the race in Arnhem on the final day of the Big Start of the 99th edition in the Netherlands.

In doing so, the German sprinter maintained his 100 per cent record in Giro d'Italia road stages, winning all four in which he has competed following successes in Belfast and Dublin in 2014, and in Nijmegen yesterday.

Team Sky's Elia Viviani finished second today, with Trek-Segafredo's Giacomo Nizzolo third.

AG2R's Jean-Christophe Peraud was forced to abandon the race after a heavy crash in which he fell on his face while Arnaud Demareof FDJ.fr, second yesterday, didn't figure in the finale today after a late crash brought down his entire ream.

The race resumes on Tuesday after a long transfer to Catanzaro in Calabria – which remarkably will be maglia rosa Kittel’s first-ever stage of the race that he will have ridden in Italy itself.

Kittel said afterwards: "I’m very happy with this second stage win and also very proud of what we have achieved as a team. Matteo Trentin and Fabio Sabatini led me out and the rest of the team kept me out of the wind earlier on.

“On paper it maybe looked like an easy stage but in reality it wasn’t. It was quite dangerous because of the wind, and there was always a fight. The wind split the peloton but I had good legs and a super strong team.

"When they brought me to the right position, I was very confident. This is my second time winning two stages in a row at the Giro d’Italia but in Ireland in 2014 I didn’t get to wear the pink jersey.

Thew rider, who abandoned the 2014 race after that win in Dublin due to illness, added "This time I’ll have it after the rest day and I want to finally win a stage in Italy as well."