Cycling: Mark Cavendish wins sprint finish

Mark Cavendish won the second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico today to claim his fourth victory of what he hopes will be a momentous 2012 season.

The Team Sky rider from the Isle of Man's late sprint took him past Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda) at the end of the 230-kilometre stage from San Vincenzo to Indicatore.

Farrar was also overtaken by Oscar Freire (Katusha) with Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) in fourth.

Matthew Goss, who finished runner-up behind Cavendish at the World Championships in Copenhagen, leads the overall standings, with Cavendish building up to the Milan-San Remo race next weekend.

The peloton was split by a crash 1.6km before the finish and Cavendish, in the front group, triumphed in a sprint finish. Cavendish won two stages on the Tour of Qatar and one in the Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne race.

PA