Tour of Britain: Mark Cavendish’s lone attack backfires badly

Gerald Ciolek (left) wins the second stage of the Tour of Britain (PA)

There was more disappointment for Mark Cavendish on Monday after Gerald Ciolek claimed a dramatic sprint victory in the second stage of the Tour of Britain as he pipped Ireland’s Sam Bennett to the finish line in Kendal to become the new race leader.

Having failed to win Sunday’s first stage from a strong position, Cavendish launched a solo attack seven miles from home but was reeled in by the peloton and eventually finished 47 seconds behind Ciolek.

The 26-year-old German, who won the Milan-San Remo in March and came third on the first stage in Scotland, claimed the leader’s jersey on the wet and miserable Lake District leg. Britain’s Simon Yates moved up to second in the general classification after coming fourth on the Carlisle-Kendal stage. Sir Bradley Wiggins crossed the line 17 seconds off the lead for Team Sky and is 12th overall. Wiggins will be expected to shine in the third stage today which is a 10-mile time trial starting and finishing at Knowsley Safari Park.

RadioShack are considering legal action after the Vuelta a España winner Chris Horner was accused of missing an out-of-competition anti-doping test yesterday.

Horner became the oldest winner of a Grand Tour on Sunday when he secured victory in the Vuelta at the age of 41. Reports emerged yesterday that he failed to complete a random test, but RadioShack have issued a statement accompanied by screenshots of emails sent by the American to clarify that the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency was at fault.

“Chris Horner updated his whereabouts with United States Anti-Doping Agency before the start of the final stage,” the statement read. “He gave Usada the name of his hotel for the night, phone number and room number for his one-hour window between 6 to 7am. This is all according to the rules and Chris Horner received a confirmation email.

“The anti-doping inspectors from the Spanish Anti-Doping Agency that were asked to do the test by Usada showed up at the wrong hotel in Madrid, where the team was staying but Horner was obviously not to be found.”