Intro:

Marcel Kittel sprinted to a second straight stage victory in a wet third leg of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday (May 11) as Michael Matthews retained the overall leader's Maglia Rosa (pink jersey).

Script:

Stage three of the Giro d'Italia - and yet more rain to cause concern.

Safely tucked in the chasing pack - Orica GreenEdge's Michael Matthews in the Maglia Rosa.

County Armagh was left behind - and it was across the border into the Republic of Ireland.

Manuel Belletti was left shaken by a crash in Dundalk.

Protected by his BMC teammates, Cadel Evans was looking to maintain the pressure on Matthews.

The Australian started the day just ten seconds adrift of the overall leader.

A much larger crash in the Irish countryside decimated the Astana team.

And with less than 35 kilometres to go to the finish in Dublin, Cameron Meyer was left with a jaw injury after a fall exiting a roundabout.

It all came down to a sprint to the finish - and Team Sky's Ben Swift, the only Brit in the Giro d'Italia this year, appeared to be on course for the stage victory.

But on his 26th birthday, Marcel Kittel's powerful late burst took him to victory ahead of Swift and Elia Viviani of Cannondale in a bunch sprint at the end of the 187-kilometre leg.

Kittel of Giant-Shimano finished in five hours, 13 minutes and 12 seconds.

Matthews retained the pink jersey with an eight-second overall lead over Alessandro Petacchi of Omega Pharma-QuickStep.

After three wet days on the 'Emerald Isle', the Giro travels back to Italy, with a rest day on Monday (May 12) before the race resumes with a stage ending in Bari.