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Swift fifth in Gatteo

Ben Swift on stage two of the 2015 Paris-Nice

Ben Swift sprinted to fifth place in Gatteo as Settimana Coppi e Bartali got under way in wet conditions.

Ben Swift sprinted to fifth place in Gatteo as Settimana Coppi e Bartali got under way in wet conditions.

The Yorkshireman emerged from a crash-marred sprint with a top-five after Team Sky had again looked to split apart the peloton on the opening morning.

The defending race champions pushed the pace on a short 99.5km stage featuring two tough climbs.

For the second year in a row pressure from the team made the bunch split on the way up the Torre di Massamanente. Notably it was Sergio Henao who pulled the front group over the summit on his return to racing following a serious knee injury.

The peloton was whittled down as low as 40 riders but its ranks swelled once more on the descent as teams looked to set up a bunch sprint. Gianfranco Zilioli (Androni Giocattoli) was the last man to be caught from the day’s four-man break.

At the finish it was Manuel Belletti (Southeast) who popped up to take the victory, edging out Grega Bole (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) and Patrick Clausen (Trefor-Blue Water) to move into an early race lead.

The action continues on Thursday afternoon with stage 1b taking the form of a split team time trial.

Updates to follow…

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