GERMANY’S Marcel Kittel met expectations and won the second stage of the Tour de France — a 203.5-km ride from Duesseldorf, Germany, to Liege in Belgium — with a commanding sprint finish Sunday while three-time champion Chris Froome managed to finish in the main pack after falling to the pavement amid a mass crash.

Froome’s Sky teammate Geraint Thomas held on to the leader’s yellow jersey.

Froome was near the front of the peloton when a Katusha rider ahead of him lost control coming around a sharp turn with about 30 km to go.

The domino reaction also took down last year’s runner-up, Romain Bardet of AG2R-La Mondiale.

Froome’s shorts and several layers of skin were torn and he had to change bikes as three teammates paced him back to the peloton.

It was Quick-Step Floors rider Kittel’s 10th career Tour stage win. France’s Arnaud Demare (FDJ) took second place with German Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) third.

Earlier, former Australian national champion Luke Durbridge quit the Tour after injuring his ankle in a crash on Saturday’s opening stage.

(SD-Agencies)