Marcel Kittel and Elia Viviani out of Giro D'Italia after eighth stage
By Andy Charles
Last Updated: 14/05/16 9:32pm
Marcel Kittel withdrew from the Giro D'Italia and Team Sky's Elia Viviani was eliminated from the race after Saturday's eighth stage.
Kittel wore the leader's pink jersey after winning stages two and three in the Netherlands, but he called time on the race ahead of Sunday's lengthy time-trial to focus on the second half of his season.
The German has been a prolific winner so far in 2016 with nine stage victories and an overall success in the Dubai Tour, where he came home first in two of the four stages.
"I'm sad to leave the Giro. I really like the atmosphere I have found here in Italy and I love the support of the Italian fans, but now I feel like I need to recover after a long first part of the season," Kittel said.
"This year I kicked-off my campaign very early in order to come back after a very difficult 2015 and the season will be even longer than usual for me because of the Worlds in Qatar.
"It's not every year that the sprinters get such an opportunity.
"Considering from where I came it's very important for me to pay attention to my fitness level. The Giro has been a tough and demanding race so far, even in the stages bookmarked for the sprinters. Now I feel that I need to rest before the future goals of the season."
The eighth stage, won by Etixx - Quick-Step's Gianluca Brambilla, included only one categorised climb, but it was raced at such a pace that Team Sky sprinter Viviani failed to finish inside the time limit along with Iuri Filosi (Nippo-Vini Fantini) and Boy Van Poppel (Trek-Segafredo).
