Elia Viviani squeezes pasts Mark Cavendish in Tour of Britain

Mark Staniforth 14:07 07/09/2015
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  • Fine finish: Elia Viviani.

    Mark Cavendish was denied victory in the first stage of the Tour of Britain yesterday after being pipped on the line by Team Sky’s Elia Viviani.

    Cavendish looked in prime position to win the sprint at the end of the stage from Beaumaris to Wrexham as he led Lotto Soudal’s Andre Greipel round the final bend. 

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    But in seeking to hold off Greipel, Cavendish left space for the Italian on his left side to take victory by the narrowest of margins.

    The sprint trio were part of a main bunch who hauled in a four-rider breakaway with two kilometres remaining to set up the thrilling finish.

    Viviani  said: “On the last turn I took Greipel’s wheel and when he did not start his sprint I thought he had left it too late. But when Cavendish went I saw a space on the left and I went for the line. I thought maybe I had won but I didn’t know until a few metres after.”

    Today’s second stage of eight is a 159.3km ride through Lancashire from Clitheroe to Colne in northern England.

    Meanwhile, Cavendish has criticised the Vuelta a Espana, claiming organisers are taking the enjoyment out of the event.

    Cavendish has not competed in the third Grand Tour of the year since 2011 mainly due to the rise in mountain finishes. 

    “The Vuelta has just become stupid now; 11 mountain-top finishes this year,” he said. “One thing for the viewers: sprinters aren’t bad bike riders. You don’t have to go quick uphill to make it a good race, do you know what I mean?

    “No-one wants to go to the Vuelta any more unless they crashed out of the Tour de France.”

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