Team Argos-Shimano sprinter Marcel Kittel (GER) has won stage 3 of the Ster ZLM Toer in the second battle royal of the sprinters in two days and as a result moves into the race lead.

Kittel finished ahead of some of the world's best sprinters and this result confirms the great form he has at the moment, making it two wins in six days after his win at the Garmin Pro Race in Berlin on Sunday.

Kittel takes the race lead thanks to the bonus seconds at the finish line and also moves into the lead of the points competition which he won overall here in 2012.

The stage was punctuated by a break of eight riders that gained a healthy advantage before being gradually pegged back by a concerted effort from Team Argos-Shimano and some of the other sprinter's teams before finally being brought back into the fold in the last 10km.

The team then set Marcel up perfectly for a big win at the end of this 188km stage starting and finishing in Buchten, making it 13 wins for Team Argos-Shimano this year so far.

“It was a controlled race today as we had one of our engines on the front with Albert Timmer (NED),” said Kittel after the race. “It was a quite difficult last lap after bringing the break back; being really technical, so we had to take care to stay in the right position, but it was not easy.

“We stayed calm with a good plan and came to the front at just the right time, just avoiding a crash in the bunch. We only lost Luka Mezgec (SLO) by a crash but he is ok.

“It was up to Ramon Sinkeldam (NED) and Tom Veelers (NED) in the finale and they did a great lead out. I knew Greipel was on my wheel but he wasn’t able to get past me. It’s nice to know that my sprint is where it should be at the right moment.”