Cycling: Cavendish takes charge

British cyclist Mark Cavendish who was runner-up on the second stage of the Ster ZLM Toer (Getty Images)

Mark Cavendish finished runner-up on the second stage of the Ster ZLM Toer, but time bonuses meant Team Sky's world champion took the overall lead in his final race before the Tour de France.

The Briton, who was third behind Marcel Kittel in Thursday's opening stage in the Netherlands, had to settle for second spot behind Andre Griepel (Lotto-Belisol) and ahead of Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) on the 167km stage through the Limburg Hills.

All four enter the final two stages level at the top of the general classification.

Cavendish wrote on Twitter: "Beaten by another massive German today in a wet #SterZLMtoer, but happy to have yellow & green jerseys!"