Cycling: Birmingham stage ends in corner controversy
Mark Cavendish, on the verge of a move to the biggest team in cycling, was narrowly beaten to a stage victory in the Tour of Britain yesterday in a controversial finish in which a missing barrier allowed riders to cut a corner, in Birmingham.
The 21-year-old is about to sign a permanent deal with T-Mobile, having impressed the German team in a short spell as a stagiaire, or triallist.
But he was disappointed yesterday, having failed to catch a break by Frederik Willems on the fourth stage of the tour. The Isle of Man-born cyclist surged ahead of Paul Manning, who complained bitterly that the front two had not followed the correct line round a roundabout inside the final kilometre.
"It's not good enough," said Manning. "It was a disgrace. I've said to the race director, 'Why do I bother riding my bike if you're going to mess up the finish?'" The race technical director Mick Bennett admitted: "The barrier should have been there," but declined to comment further.
Martin Pedersen leads as the race heads for the South-east and Canterbury.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies