DePanne: Viviani gets the better of Kittel

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Elia Viviani produced a textbook sprint to win stage two of the Three Days of De Panne ahead of Marcel Kittel and race leader Alexander Kristoff

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DePanne: Viviani gets the better of Kittel

Elia Viviani produced a textbook sprint to win stage two of the Three Days of De Panne ahead of Marcel Kittel and race leader Alexander Kristoff in a sprint between three of the sports fastest men.

The Italian was perfectly positioned by Ian Stannard, Christian Knees, Danny van Poppel and Andy Fenn in the closing stages of the 211.1km trek from Zottegem to Koksijde, and latched on to Kittel’s wheel with two kilometres to go. Kristoff (Katusha) opened up his sprint early in the finale, but Viviani bided his time and rounded Kittel (Etixx – Quick-Step) in the last 100 metres to seal a great result for the Italian.

The victory was Viviani’s second of the season and puts him another step closer to achieving his goal of 10 successes in 2016.

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After the race, Viviani told TeamSky.com: “My team did a great job for me. Ian and Christian kept me near the front and then Andy and Danny rode brilliantly to get me in the perfect position behind Kittel. As we came onto the finishing straight I knew I was in the best spot. It was a technical sprint, with a cross headwind from the right, and I knew I had to stay calm until the last 100m. That was the perfect time to go and today was my time.”

“I really needed that win and this is a great moment for me. I haven’t had a big result since coming back from the track World Championships, so this is good for me personally, and for the team”. He added: “I definitely want to try and do something there as well and then Scheldeprijs is my next big goal. I’m going to miss the the Tour of Flanders to ensure I’m 100% for that, and today’s result has given me a lot of confidence.”

Marcel Kittel: “I am very disappointed, but it’s not a shame to lose to Viviani. The team worked really hard to take me there and provide me a strong lead-out. I started my sprint early, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been on the podium, and Elia took advantage of that. Despite this, I see the positive side of this defeat, which is that both the team and I are very strong and have confidence; that’s very encouraging for my next goal of the season, Scheldeprijs”.

Alexander Kristoff (race leader & 3rd): “I could see many guys were tired from yesterday, including myself. I could tell that I did not have the best legs today. In the sprint we managed to get to the front but we were a little bit behind at the corner so we had to use a lot of energy. Jacopo almost had a crash, so we lost the wheel of Michael Mørkøv. That also ruined the sprint a little bit for us because we had to brake and then go again”.

“So when I hit the 200 meter sign, I passed Jacopo but I had almost nothing left. It was all I could do to get on the wheel and follow. I got four bonus seconds but would have been better off with the ten for winning. I don’t think I have enough time to win the overall even if I win the early stage tomorrow. I think Westra is very strong in the TT and also Lutsenko can be dangerous, so it will be hard to protect the lead but I will try”.

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1. Elia Viviani, Sky
2. Marcel Kittel, Etixx Quickstep
3. Alexander Kristoff, Katusha

48. Kristian House, One Pro
57. Scott Thwaites, Bora Argon
94. Ian Stannard, Sky
108. Andy Fenn, Sky

DNF
Luke Rowe
Ryan Mullen

GC
1. Alexander Kristoff, Katusha

 

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