Cycling: First six announced for British team to tackle Tour de France

A British road racing team that hopes to produce a Tour de France champion within five years has unveiled its first six riders.

The team, backed by the BSkyB broadcasting network and called Team Sky, is managed by Great Britain performance director Dave Brailsford. The initial six riders are Geraint Thomas, who won Olympic gold for the Team Pursuit at the Beijing Games, 2004 Olympic silver medalist Steve Cummings, 2008 Tour de France competitor Chris Froome, Ian Stannard, who was third in last year's Tour of Britain, and 31-year-old Russell Downing.

Meanwhile, Britain's sprint specialist Mark Cavendish broke away after the final turn to win Tuesday's second stage of the Tour of Missouri. Cavendish sprinted to the finish line in Cape Girardeau to take the stage and keep his overall lead after winning Monday's first stage.