Greipel sprints to Giro d’Italia stage two victory

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Andre Greipel

Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) won a bunch sprint to take the second stage of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday and the pink jersey for the first time.

Greipel edged out Roberto Ferrari (UAE Team Emirates) at the end of the hilly 221-kilometer leg from Olbia to Tortoli, crossing the line in just over six hours. Jasper Stuyven was third on another slow day at the Giro, with lots of crosswinds and some headwinds.

The second stage went throughout the up-and-down Sardinian landscape. It didn’t take long before a breakaway was established. Teklehaimanot, Koshevoy, Andreetta, Owsian and Shalunov were the escapees of the day, after some attempts had failed earlier. Four of the five riders stayed ahead until the last climb, only Andreetta was already dropped before the climb.

On paper the Genna Silana, a second category climb of almost twenty kilometres, seemed ideal to decide the race, but there were no big accelerations from the bunch. An almost complete peloton started the descent of around thirty kilometres. Bahrain – Merida determined the pace in the descent and got the peloton completely stretched out, causing trouble for some riders, including Zakarin. In the last kilometres the teams of the sprinters could organise themselves. André Greipel was well-placed at the front of the bunch, surrounded by his teammates.

Jasper De Buyst pulled the sprint rather early and André Greipel finished it off in style. Roberto Ferrari became second and Jasper Stuyven finished third.  Tomorrow Greipel will defend his pink jersey in a new sprint stage.

“It’s an honour to win a stage in the Giro and to wear the pink jersey”, said Greipel. “There are a few moments in your career as a sprinter where you can get hold of the leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour. You can feel a euphoric pink atmosphere here in Italy and even more because it’s the one hundred edition. They are totally in love with cycling so to wear this pink jersey on stage was an incredible feeling.”

Giro d’Italia 2017 – stage 2 results (Olbia – Tortoli):

1André Greipel (Lotto Soudal)

6:05:18

2Roberto Ferrari (UAE Team Emirates)

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3Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo)

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4Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors)

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5Kristian Sbaragli (Dimension Data)

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6Enrico Battaglin (LottoNl-Jumbo)

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7Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data)

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8Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)

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9Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott)

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10Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates)

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11Matteo Montaguti (AG2R)

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12Davide Villella (Cannondale-Drapac)

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13Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida)

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14Maximiliano Richeze (Quick-Step Floors)

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15Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-hansgrohe)

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16Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R)

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17Luka Mezgec (Orica-Scott)

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18Alexander Edmondson (Orica-Scott)

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19Adam Yates (Orica-Scott)

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20Nairo Quintana (Movistar)

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General classificationa fter stage 2:

1André Greipel (Lotto Soudal)

11:18:39

2Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-hansgrohe)

+04”

3Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott)

+08”

4Roberto Ferrari (UAE Team Emirates)

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5Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo)

+10”

6Pavel Brutt (Gazprom – Rusvelo)

+12”

7Kristian Sbaragli (Dimension Data)

+14”

8Ryan Gibbons (Dimension Data)

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9Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors)

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10Enrico Battaglin (LottoNl-Jumbo)

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11Geraint Thomas (Team Sky)

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12Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates)

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13Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida)

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14Simone Ponzi (CCC Sprandi Polkowice)

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15Sacha Modolo (UAE Team Emirates)

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16Nairo Quintana (Movistar)

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17Adam Yates (Orica-Scott)

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18Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R)

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19Diego Rosa (Team Sky)

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20Matteo Montaguti (AG2R)

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