Lotto Belisol leader labours in soaking conditions.

Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) acknowledged his first sprint defeat of 2013, stating that the cold and rain during stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico left him devoid of strength in the furious surge to Indicatore.

"I think we all felt the same after five and half hours in the rain. The conditions were pretty tough and I'm still shaking from the cold. Some riders can handle it better, but I couldn't today."

As always, all the teams were jostling for position inside the final few kilometres, particularly before a wide left hand turn with one km to go. Greipel's devoted lead-out men stretched out the pack for him but then he failed to finish off the job when the time came to capitalize from the dedicated work of his teammates.

"We did a good job as a team and everyone was there. I know I can always count on the guys.

"I didn’t have the legs I usually have in a sprint. I'm just a human being and that's the way it is. Tomorrow is another chance and we'll give it another try. Hopefully, it will work better."