Elia Viviani wins Giro d’Italia’s stage two as Michael Matthews takes lead

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/10/elia-viviani-giro-ditalia-stage-two-michael-matthews

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Italy’s Elia Viviani used his knowledge of home roads to snatch victory in stage two of the Giro d’Italia while the Australian Michael Matthews took over the race lead.

Team Sky’s Viviani triumphed on the 177km ride from Albenga to Genoa, pipping Moreno Hofland and André Greipel on the line.

“It’s incredible to win my first stage in the Giro,” Viviani said. “We’re here to help Richie Porte in the general classification so I don’t have many riders for the sprints. But I knew the final metres were uphill and I knew when to go.”

Matthews, whose Orica-GreenEdge won the team time trial on Saturday, finished seventh on the stage to take the pink jersey. “It was a very technical stage finish and we knew that you had to be up front in the last kilometre,” he said. “I decided to go early because everyone was fighting for position. But the finish was really hard.

“It was a really special time for me to wear the maglia rosa last year and to wear it for the second time is even sweeter. It was team work yesterday that got me where I am today, so I have to thank my team-mates for this magical feeling.”

Alberto Contador is sixth overall for Tinkoff-Saxo as the Spaniard attempts to become the first man to achieve a Giro/Tour de France double since the late Marco Pantani of Italy in 1998.

Stage three on Monday is a 136km journey from Rapallo to Sestri Levante with several tough climbs and bends. The race finishes in Milan on 31 May.