Viviani outsprints Kittel in De Panne

Italy's Elia Viviani claimed the second stage of Three Days of De Panne on Wednesday, edging out Germany's Marcel Kittel and overall leader Alexander Kristoff in a sprint finish after a 211km run from Zottegem.

A seven-man breakaway breathed life into the stage, with Dutch rider Pim Ligthart the final escapee to be swallowed up around 20km from the finish.

Etixx-QuickStep set up Kittel to launch an assault for the line with around 250 metres to go, but the German sprint specialist was overtaken by a charging Elia, as the Team Sky rider notched up his second win of the season after claiming a stage on February's Tour of Dubai.

Katusha rider Kristoff, winner of Tuesday's opening stage and the defending champion, holds a five-second lead going into Thursday's concluding split stages - a 111km trip around De Panne is followed by a 14.2km time-trial.
Source: AFP