Spectacular Mark Cavendish lands the cycling road race World Championship
Last updated 10/3/2011 12:27:19 PM
Mark Cavendish lands the World Championship
Manxman Mark Cavendish showed exactly why he is the world's number one cyclist when he won the men's road race world title in Denmark.
Over the 226 kilometre course Cavendish led for no more than the final few centimetres and even then the title came by less than the width of a tyre.
But the serial Tour de France stage winner knew it was his as he raised his arm in salute not only to his own magnificent sprint finish but for the incredible support of the GB team who nursed him all the way home.
Cavendish, as always, will be the first to salute his team mates, especially the redoubtable Bradley Wiggins who kept the team together as their rivals launched attack after attack to try and unsettle the favourite.
The British team rode a near-perfect race and they can all expect a gift from the man who has the gold medal hung around his neck. Cavendish, despite his successes, knows that without his team he would have no chance of being placed in the position to claim victory.
But, equally, his team mates share in his triumph with everyone of them playing a massive part and keeping Great Britain at the head of the field as the strongest cycling nation in the world as they held off successive attacks from Germany, Australia and Italy.
The eight-man GB line-up ignored all breakaways to control the peloton over the 266km course and delivered Cavendish to the finish in almost ideal fashion.
It was then that the Manx Flyer battled his way through from tenth place in a crowded finish to explode across the line in a mass finish ahead of Australia's Matt Goss and German Andre Greipel.
The 26-year-old's victory is the first British world road race success since Tommy Simpson won gold in 1965.
There were successive attacks by a variety of top riders but their breaks were always covered by the GB favourites who never panicked even when the gap grew to seven minutes.
A crash in a narrow portion of the course involving France's Blel Kadri caused further havoc, leaving some 20 riders - among them Frank Schleck and defending world champion Thor Hushovd - temporarily trapped as service cars and mechanics struggled to reach them.
The Brits refused to be drawn away from their main aim of getting Cav home and were forced to police the peloton keeping it together for the entire race.
The breakaway evaporated inside two laps from the finish while Froome, Steve Cummings and Jeremy Hunt fell away from the British train after expending vast sums of energy earlier in the race.
Bradley Wiggins, the world time trial silver medallist earlier this week, produced a superb stint at the front before handing to Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas for the very closing stages.
Thomas threw a panicked look behind him as Tour de France green jersey winner Cavendish looked in danger of becoming boxed-in as they reached the finishing straight.
But the Manxman accelerated away in trademark style on the right-hand edge of the pack to secure victory.