Thank you for joining me, Ollie Haggart for VAVEL's live coverage of the 2014 Giro d'Italia stage 2. We will return tomorrow for more coverage of day three, in The Republic of Ireland.
1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Team Giant-Shimano
2 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ.fr
3 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
4 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale
5 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
6 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
7 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Sky
8 Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica Greenedge
9 Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
10 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin Sharp
16:08. Nacer Bouhanni takes second place, whilst Nizzolo takes third. A good result for Farrar, finishing tenth, considering the setback his team suffered in yesterdays stage.
16:05. Oreca GreenEdge looked likely to take the victory, but Marcel Kittel's experience and speed proves dominant as he crosses the line to win stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia
16:06. THE SPRINT BEGINS
16:05. Giant and Omega pushing alongside Sky and Cannondale atyt the head of the group. 1.6 km remaining now. It promises to be a tight finish
16:04. Things really heating up here. Farrar is up with the head of the peloton. Could he pull off an amazing win after yesterdays controversy?
16:00. Cannondale and Sky lead the peloton, as they consume the green jersey of Tjallingii. Unfortunate not to win the stage, but he will finish on the podium as the king of the mountains.
15:57. As Romero drops from the leaders, Tjallingii looks to attack once more. He's up for it today, winning the mountain stages, now looking to secure the stage. The gap however is only 30 seconds now; 6 km to go.
15:55. It's looking like the main contenders are from Cannondale, Giant and Orica. With 9 km remaining, Kittel is still favourite. 33 seconds is the gap.
15:51. With 13 km remaining, the Cannondale team has pushed forward and now head the peloton. All the sprinters look ready, as they gather a few more food supplies before the big finale. The gap seperating the peloton and the four riders leading the race is down to 55 seconds.
15:48. Chicchi has a change of wheel, along with a team-mate. Not the best situation for them, considering there is 14 km remaining. The gap has been closed to 1 minute and 7 seconds
15:46. The intimediate sprint is won by Fedi, who finishes ahead of Armee, who was desperate of some points in todays stage.
15:41. In other news, Vos wins again.
15:40. Omega, FDJ, Orica and Sky are all pushing to close the gap of 1 minute at the front of the peloton. 22 km remaining and it's looking to be a tight finish.
15:39. Tjallingii takes more points from the mountain stage, gaining the maximum of 6 for today. He will be wearing the blue jersey.
15:34. Gasparotto drops back to his team car for a tire change. only 25 km to go, as the peloton approach the final climb of the day. The gap seperating the two groups is down to 1:30 minutes.
15:30. The pace of the peloton is being upped all the time as the breaks advantage is now cut down to only 2 minutes. It's shaping up nicely for a sprint finish.
15:25. A couple of Tinkoff riders move to the front of the peloton, alongside Omega and Orica. 32 km to go, with the peloton closing the gap between them and the break to 2 minutes and 13 seconds. The race is finally starting to wake up.
15:20. Only 36 km remaining, and the break are only ahead by 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Looks as if the peloton will eventually catch them.
15:13. The young rider standings currently: first: Durbridge (Orica GreenEdge). Second:Matthews (Orica GreenEdge). Third:Vermote (Omega Pharma QuickStep)
15:10. After 4 hours, the average speed in the Giro d'Italia has been 41.029 km/h!
15:07. Romero has dropped off the breakaway, as he collects food from his team car. He will look to rejoin the 3 man group at the head of the group of riders, but the peloton are catching up, with only 3:49 minutes seperating the groups.
15:06. Petacchi has dropped further back, confirming he will not participate in todays sprint finish.
15:02. various riders are now dropping back from the peloton to collect food and take off thermal jackets, due to the weather finally brightning up.
14:58. Timmer has a flat, and is forced to wait for his team car. Omega Pharma Quickstep now move to the head of the peloton for the first time today. 52 km remaining, and the break are now only 3:58 minutes ahead. The race starting to heat up as the riders are surely beggining to think what tactics they will use in the final few kilometers.
14:55. The main group are now passing through the small town of Glenarm, birthplace of Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers! No doubt he will not be concerned, with his last game of the season coming tomorrow; Tune in to VAVEL for live updates of that
14:50. As the peloton ride along the Irish beaches, Horse riders are challenging them to a race, who themseves are coping with the steady pace.
14:48. Despite the Unbelievable turn out from the fans today, given the weather. The 4 leaders are riding well and maintaining a steady 4 and a half minute lead.
14:43. Many riders are collecting extra layers from their respective team cars to fight away the cold. 63 km remaining, and the break is 4:26 minutes ahead.
14:40. Spectacular scenery is on show here, despite the extremely wet conditions.
14:37. Orica-GreenEdge and Giant-Shimano riders lead the peloto as they ride along the Irish coastline. It looks as if Marcel Kittel will be the favourite to win this stage.
14:30. Tjallingii (Belkin), Armee (Lotto), Fedi (Neri Sottoli) and Romero (Columbia) are still leading the race, but have lost time, as the peloton are now only 4:30 minutes behind.
14:17. Orica slow down the pace of the peloton, as they ride down a small descent. No-one wants to take any risks here, especially after seeing the results of bad weather on flat ground yesterday.
14:15. An Orica rider is currently on the side of the road, looking for mechanical assistance. They have to be careful however, as they were fined yesterday for breaching rules, by keeping warm during the race.
14:10. As the peloton passes through the mountain gate, there's a stoppage for many riders, as they're not capable of passing through as a group.
14:09. The leading 4 riders didn't look like they'd contest the first climb, until Andrea Fedi took the lead with a burst of speed, just as quickly dropping to the back. Tjallingii uses all his strength to take the lead, with Romero following closely behind, but can't catch the Belkin rider, who takes maximum points.
14:06. The king of the mountains competition is underway as Maarten Tjallingii (Belkin) takes maximum points as he passes through the first gate
14:01. As the rain continues to lash down on the riders in Northern Ireland, the peloton, lead by team Orica continue to put pressure on the breakaway, and are now around 5:03 minutes behind.
13:54. The racing got underway earlier on today, and the stage's breakaway has a gap of 5'28" back to the peloton. There's four men in the break: Sander Armee (Lotto Belisol), Maarten Tjallingii (Belkin), Jeffry Romero (Colombia) and Andrea Fedi (Neri Sottoli).
13:51. The stage looks as though it will finish in a bunch sprint, with Giant-Shimano's Marcel Kittel the favourite.
13:43. Garmin directeur sportif Jonathan Vaughters described the crash as "heartbreaking".
13:42. In today's stage, Garmin-Sharp will be without home favourite Dan Martin after a horrific crash in yesterday's stage, resulting in a broken collar bone.
13:41. Here's a quick recap on everything that went on in Belfast yesterday (in Italian).
13:40. Here's how yesterday's team time trial ended.
</p> <p><strong>13:38. Omega Pharma QuickStep </strong>grabbed second place, with a 5 second difference. <strong>BMC </strong>took the third spot, 7 seconds off <strong>Rigoberto Uran's </strong>team. </p> <p><strong>13:31. Orica-GreenEdge</strong> are leading as the first road stage starts today. The Australian team claimed the win in the same discipline in last year's Tour de France, finished in a time of 24:42. </p> <p><strong>13:29. </strong>This is how the general classification looks at the moment.</p> <p><iframe width="600"   src="http://www.procyclingstats.com/widgets/pcs-race-results.php?id=139045&ref=default" scrolling="YES" frameborder="0" height="300"></p> <p><strong>16:28.</strong> <strong>Svein Tuft</strong> was the winner of yesterday's time trial, and is the current holder of the pink jersey. There's no better way to spend his birthday!</p> <p><strong>16:27.</strong> Here's todays stage profile:</p> <p><img alt="" height="484" data-cke-saved-src="http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com/2014/04/16/2/stage_2_profile_670.jpg" src="http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com/2014/04/16/2/stage_2_profile_670.jpg" width="670"/></p> <p><strong>13:25. </strong>Good afternoon, and welcome to VAVEL's live commentary of stage 2 of the 2014 Giro d'Italia.</p>
13:30. Stage one threw up all sorts of drama and there's sure to be more of the same today.
13:30. Good afternoon and welcome to Vavel's live coverage of stage two of the 2014 Giro d'Italia.
