Steven Kruijswijk survived the Giro d'Italia’s second stage to Tortolì safely today. Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s Dutch leader was protected all day in front and Enrico Battaglin sat ready for the sprint, taking sixth behind stage winner and new leader André Greipel.

"What I did wrongly yesterday, I corrected today," said Kruijswijk. He finished in the same time as the winner.

"I look back on today with a more enjoyable feeling than yesterday. We were much sharper today. We were at the front and did not waste time.

"Yesterday, I waited and thought maybe it was easier than it was. We sharpened our focus and sat all day in the front. The boys kept me out of trouble all day long."

The stage covered 220 kilometres and the riders had to climb a number of mountain passes. On the top of the last climb, the early break was caught and the peloton went full-gas in the descent. Kruijswijk was constantly held at the top 15 of the peloton in the descent by Jos van Emden and his team-mates.

"It was a long day with a lot of wind. That means you need to stay attentive and that's been successful today.”

Battaglin led team LottoNL-Jumbo into the Sardinian town.

"The most important thing is that we carried Steven safely through the day,” Battaglin said. “In the final, I could ride for myself for the sprint. I was in a good position and it's a nice bonus that I finished sixth. "

The two-time Giro stage winner placed 13th yesterday and moved to 10th in GC after today.