Cavendish races to victory in Dumfries Tour stage

CYCLING star Mark Cavendish raced through Moffat and on to a stunning victory in Dumfries in the first stage of this year's Tour of Britain competition.

The Tour de France veteran had been unveiled as a major name for the British event, which saw 96 cyclists set off from Peebles, to Moffat and on to Dumfries, cycling a circuit along the Solway before heading back to the region's capital.

Collecting the IG Markets Gold Jersey and The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey\!q, Cavendish, from the Isle of Man, said: "It’s incredible to win the first stage and get the leader's jersey.

"If the weather had been better we would have been a bit quicker, but I think it would still have been the same result."

After completing the 105.8-mile distance in a time of 4:41:06, the 26-year-old added: "We had wicked support today. The amount of cheers and banners along the stage was brilliant. Super encouraging.

"You wouldn’t expect this is Britain and it’s very different to when I last raced here in 2007. It’s very nice. This event is certainly growing."

The HTC Highroad rider led home teammate Mark Renshaw for one-two finish, with Rabobank’s Theo Bos coming third.

The cyclists arrived in Dumfries around an hour behind schedule, as high winds and heavy rain ate into their pace.

Russell Hampton, leader of the Skoda King of the Mountains Classification and Stage One Most Combative Rider, said: "That was really hard today. Most of the day was a headwind and a very big one at that."



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