Elia Viviani (Cannondale) sprinted to a second place behind a powerful Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) in today's second stage of Paris-Nice and took over the leader's jersey from Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ). Acknowledging Kittel's strength, the disappointment of the defeat was overshadowed by the delight in his new GC position.

Entering the stage just 1 second behind overnight leader Nacer Bouhanni, Elia Viviani had a great chance to take over the lead in this year's edition of Paris-Nice. With the mountains looming in the horizon, he knew that he had to striker sooner rather than later if he was to get a stint in the coveted jersey.

His quest for glory was greatly facilitated by the misfortune of Bouhanni who crashed out of the race with 52 km to go. Still 1 second behind new virtual leader Damien Gaudin (Europcar), he profited from the second and final intermediate sprint at the first passage of the finish line with 18 kilometers remaining to secure 3 bonus seconds, and with his impressive second place in the final sprint, he ended the day 7 seconds clear of Sylvain Chavanel (OmegaPharma-QuickStep).

Even if he had entered the stage with a dual objective, he had to admit Kittel's superior strength. As a consequence, he was more than happy with the outcome of the day.

“Today my ambition was to take the win and the jersey,” he confirmed. “And I was close to getting both. I’m really satisfied: Kittel had a great sprint and I can’t ask for more. I was more hungry for yesterday’s sprint, but in general I’m happy with my performance so far."

Paris-Nice has been the season's first big objective for the Italian sprinter, but like many others the race also serves as important preparation for the spring classics. He aims at success in Gent-Wevelgem at the end of the month and will also get his own chance to go for success in Paris-Roubaix.

In light of his later goals he was encouraged by his sensations even if he insisted that for now his focus is firmly concentrated on the race at hand.

"I feel good and my form is improving," he said. "Looking ahead to the spring classics, I see good signs. But now I want to focus only on Paris-Nice."

He will need all of this focus if he is to defend his lead in tomorrow's third stage. With a 2nd category climb (2,7 km, 6,7%) just 15,5 km from the finish, the final is significantly harder than what has been seen until now. Having shown glimpses of his solid climbing abilities in earlier races, Viviani does not rule out that he will be in yellow tomorrow evening. His overall objective in the race is, however, a jersey of a different colour.

" Tomorrow I will try to hold onto the jersey and – why not – to be competitive in the final", he explained. "Then, I’ll see day by day and hope to hold the green jersey until Nice. I’ll race to earn as many points as possible, both in the intermediate and final sprints.”

At the moment, Viviani leads the points competition with 12 points over second-placed Borut Bozic (Astana).