• Tour of Britain, Stage Two

Cavendish denied in rare sprint finish defeat

ESPN staff
September 10, 2012
Mark Cavendish was denied in the second stage © PA Photos
Enlarge

Mark Cavendish was denied victory in the second stage of the Tour of Britain on Monday, as Australian Leigh Howard pipped the Manx Missile in a sprint finish.

Cavendish was well positioned heading into the final phase of the 181 kilometres stage between Nottingham and Knowsley Safari Park, but got nudged off the ideal line with around 600 metres remaining as Howard stormed through.

The Orica-GreenEDGE sprinter was followed home by a frustrated Cavendish, with Boy Van Poppel of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling in third.

From the beginning of the stage Cavendish's Team Sky operation were forced to work hard to reel in an early breakaway, as six riders split from the pack after just 3km and opened up an advantage of over three minutes. The British team worked together in the peloton to regain contact with the leading pack with 23km remaining, however, laying the stage for Cavendish to ride for the stage win.

But Howard had other ideas, denying his more famous opponent by around half a bike length as he crossed the line in first.

Team Sky's Luke Rowe thought he had maintained the leader's jersey, but a small split in the peloton saw his time amended as he slipped to third, one second behind Van Poppel and Howard.

The eight-stage Tour of Britain continues on Tuesday with a stage from Jedburgh to Dumfries.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices