Elia Viviani added to a very successful day for team Sky with victory on a crash-effected second stage of the Dubai Tour. Sacha Modolo (Lampre-Merida) claimed second with Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) rounding out the podium. Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) were put out of contention after a crash in the final kilometre leaving it to a small group to duke it out.
Viviani looked untouchable in the reduced bunch sprint after a strong leadout from Ben Swift. It the Italian’s first victory of the season after being beaten by the smallest of margins on the final stage of the Tour de San Luis, by his own leadout man Jakub Mareczko. That defeat had elicited an unusually strong reaction from Viviani, who refused to attend the podium ceremony
A crash at the mouth of a tunnel with a kilometre remaining all but ended the hopes of the pre-stage favourites, Cavendish and Kittel. The crash appeared to be sparked by a touch of wheels with a Trek-Segafredo rider going down. While Cavendish was able to fight back into the leading group, the efforts showed and he came home in 10th. Kittel didn’t have such luck and rolled in well down on the group.
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