Kittel takes the sprint in shortened stage

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Marcel Kittel overcame the harsh winter weather and the doping stories of the last week to win the sprint of the shortened second stage of the Etoile de Besseges in Saint-Ambroix. Kris Boeckmans of Vacansoleil-DCM was second, with stage one winner Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-Big Mat).  Kittel also took over the race lead.

The severe winter weather which has hit Europe this week also hit the Etoile de Besseges on Thursday. Snow and temperatures at the freezing point forced the race organisers to cancel the first part of the race and move the start to the feed zone at Lusson, which eliminated the two climbs of the day and left the field with a 58.8km romp on the day.

The riders had protested against racing under these conditions at the beginning of the day, and continued to make their displeasure known. 2011 winner Anthony Ravard tried twice to break away, but the field was determined to stick together in its unhappiness.  FDJ-Big Mat, around stage one winner and race leader Nacer Bouhanni stayed vigilantly at the front of the group.

The bunch stayed together for the inevitable mass sprint after five laps of a closing 7.3km circuit course.  Kittel was first over the line, after finishing second the previous day.

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