Italy's Elia Viviani, riding for Team Sky, sprinted to victory in the second stage of the Tour of Dubai Thursday after a crash in the final kilometer appeared to affect opponents. After the 183km run from the Dubai International Marine Club to the man-made Palm Jumeirah island, Italian sprinters Sacha Modolo and Giacomo Nizzolo came second and third. The second of four stages featured an escape led by Polish rider Marcin Bialoblocki, five kilometers into the race. He was joined by Silvan Dillier, Koen de Kort and Francisco Mancebo. A crash at the end of the underwater tunnel of Palm Jumeirah appeared to impact Wednesday's opening stage winner Marcel Kittel of Germany and last year's winner Britain's Mark Cavendish. Friday's third stage embarks from the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort to the Hatta Dam near the border with Oman where racers will be challenged with two climbs and descents. Sky pair dominate Tour de France champion Chris Froome presented a token of appreciation to teammate Peter Kennaugh by allowing the 26-year-old to claim a stage victory and the overall lead of the Herald Sun Tour Thursday. Kennaugh leads fellow Briton Froome by seven seconds in the overall standings after the Team Sky pair dominated the first stage which started and finished in Healesville. "It's really a nice feeling being able to give something back to Peter Kennaugh," Froome, making his first race appearance in potentially the biggest season of his career, told reporters after completing the 126 km stage. "The number of times he's emptied himself for me out on the road, he's been part of both my Tour de France victories. It feels nice to do something for him now," the 30-year-old said. Froome, who has set his sights on double Olympic gold and a third Tour de France title, broke away on the Mt Saint Leonard climb and was joined by his teammate with barely 20 km to go as they took complete control of the race. "Massive thanks to the team and especially to Froomey because, once I got across to him, I pretty much just sat on his wheel the whole way up the climb," Kennaugh, who won the Great Ocean Road Race in Geelong on Sunday, said. "Then once I got over, I was able to do some good turns and take it to the finish with him." The second leg of the four-stage race is a 144-km run from Yarra Glen to Moe Friday.
