Sprint glory for Cavendish

Britain's Mark Cavendish avoided a late crash to claim victory in stage two of the Tour de France.

Manxman earns stage two success

Britain's Mark Cavendish avoided a late crash to claim victory in stage two of the Tour de France. Cavendish was given the perfect lead out by Team Columbia, allowing him to stay away from trouble at the front and then move clear in the final 400 metres of the 187-kilometre route from Monaco to Brignoles. The run-in to the line was marred by a fall at the final right-hand turn, splitting the peloton 750m from the finish line. The crash, however, did not worry Cavendish, whose final burst saw him come home two bike lengths clear of American Tyler Farrar of Garmin-Slipstream. France's Romain Feillu finished third for Agritubel. Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara, winner of the opening time-trial on Saturday, finished safely in the main bunch to retain the overall leader's yellow jersey. A group of four riders - Jussi Veikkanen, Stef Clement, Stephane Auge and Cyril Dessel - had broken away early in the day and at one point opened a gap of five minutes and 20 seconds. But Cancellara's Saxo Bank team united with Team Columbia to step up a gear at the front of the main bunch after the Col d'Ange, hauling in the escapees with 10km remaining to leave the stage set for Cavendish.

Brilliant

"It's brilliant," said Cavendish, who won four stages in last year's race but has failed to reach Paris in either of his previous Tours. "I was in good form, you could see the team were motivated for the sprint, all nine of us were riding out in the front there at the end. "We were the only team for a while sprinting with Saxo Bank and then Cervelo came in with one guy. "When we put two guys in, when we took control we showed we meant business and I'm happy to finish it with a win. "I didn't know how open my legs would be. In Tours it normally takes me a few days of riding. But I felt good today. "I was protected well, I rode intelligently, I didn't waste energy which is easy to do at the beginning of a Grand Tour when you're fresh. "It was a pretty long sprint but I had to take it on and I was able to hold it." The 24-year-old's victory was his 42nd professional triumph, surpassing the previous best by a British rider of 41 held by Chris Boardman. Stage two result
1 M Cavendish (Britain/Columbia) 4 hrs 30 mins 02 secs
2 T Farrar (US/Garmin) same time
3 R Feillu (France/Agritubel)
4 T Hushovd (Norway/Cervelo)
5 Y Arashiro (Japan/Bbox-Bouygues)
6 G Ciolek (Germany/Milram)
7 W Bonnet (France/Bbox-Bouygues)
8 N Roche (Ireland/AG2R)
9 K de Kort (Netherlands/Skil-Shimano)
10 L Mondory (France/AG2R Overall standings
1 F Cancellara (Switzerland/Saxo Bank) 4hrs 49mins 34secs
2 A Contador (Spain/Astana) +18"
3 B Wiggins (Britain/Garmin) +19"