Tuesday 26 August 2014 19:08, UK
Mark Cavendish claimed his first win since crashing at the Tour de France by sprinting to victory on the opening stage of the Tour du Poitou Charentes.
The Manxman beat Ag2r-La Mondiale’s Maxime Daniel into second place and Wanty-Groupe Gobert's Roy Jans into third in La Ronde.
After picking up ten bonus seconds for the win, Cavendish now leads the race overall, with Daniel four seconds back in second and Jans six seconds adrift in third.
It was Cavendish's tenth win of the season and first since the Tour de Suisse in June.
Cavendish said: "It's a nice feeling to win again, especially after such a well-executed sprint. In the next few days we will see if we can try again and continue this winning mood."
The five-day Tour du Poitou Charentes takes place in France and concludes on Friday. A 23.4km time trial on stage four is likely to decide the overall winner.
Earlier on Tuesday, Great Britain rider Daniel McLay sprinted to victory on stage three of the Tour de l'Avenir, a prestigious under-23 race in France.
The race is seen as the premier proving ground for up-and-coming young riders and has been won in recent years by the likes of Nairo Quintana, Jan Bakelants and Bauke Mollema.
McLay beat Denmark's Magnus Cort Nielsen into second place and Colombia's Fernando Gaviria into third on the 143km stage from Montrond-les-Bains to Paray-le-Monial.
Denmark's Asbjorn Kragh Andersen retained the overall race lead.
Tour du Poitou Charentes stage one result
1 Mark Cavendish (GB) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step, 4:47:06
2 Maxime Daniel (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, same time
3 Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, st
4 Rudy Barbier (Fra) Roubaix Lille Metropole, st
5 David Menut (Fra) BigMat-Auber 93, st
Tour du Poitou Charentes general classification
1 Mark Cavendish (GB) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step, 4:46:56
2 Maxime Daniel (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, +4secs
3 Roy Jans (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, +6
4 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling, +7
5 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing, +8
