With no real overall winner candidate, Sky are at the Giro d'Italia with different objectives than usual and one of them includes taking stage wins with sprinter Ben Swift. The Brit was in the mix in today's first bunch kick where he took seventh but the rainy conditions prevented him from doing the best possible sprint.

Ben Swift sprinted to seventh place for Team Sky on the second stage of the Giro d’Italia after Marcel Kittel had romped to a comfortable victory in Belfast.

Bernhard Eisel, Chris Sutton and Edvald Boasson Hagen worked hard to guide Swift into contention as the 218km looped stage neared its conclusion, and Salvatore Puccio kept the pace high on the front of the bunch before the sprint specialists came to the fore.

Swift battled bravely in the dying stages but could only look on as Kittel surged down the finishing straight and wrapped up his first Giro triumph ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing).

That result saw Kittel (Giant-Shimano) move top of the points classification, and Michael Matthews moved into the pink jersey as he was the only Orica-GreenEdge rider on the right side of a three-second split which saw team-mate Svein Tuft relinquish his prize.

Back on the bus Swift explained how his day had panned out, and how the wet roads in the Northern Irish capital had affected his late kick for victory.

He told his team's website: "It was pretty miserable out there for most of the stage but the rain did clear up a bit towards the end.

"The sprint itself was not overly-messy. We stuck together as a team really well and I think there was only a brief moment where we weren't riding as a unit. Bernie, CJ and Eddy did a really good job for me and I made a little move going into the last corner to try and get myself in the best position heading into the finish. Unfortunately my wheels slipped a bit as I tried to get back up to speed and it was only when I regained that traction that I could really push on.

"I was happy with how I sprinted right at the end, but that top-end speed came a fraction too late and it cost me. Overall, I'm happy though. My aim was to be in the mix in stages like this and there'll be other opportunities to come."