Cavendish takes 3rd stage of Tour of Britain

Team Sky rider Mark Cavendish won a sprint finish to take the third stage of the Tour of Britain from Jedburgh to Dumfries on Tuesday. Cavendish, the 2011 world road race champion, had suffered a crash in the closing moments of the opening stage and was pushed into second place by Australia's Leigh Howard in a tense finish at Knowsley Safari Park on Monday. But he finally got his stage win on Tuesday after the peloton, led by Team Sky colleagues Jeremy Hunt and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, had reeled in the breakaway group heading into the final two kilometres. Cavendish took advantage of their efforts to sprint clear to take the stage. It was Team Sky's second stage win after Luke Rowe's victory on Sunday and Cavendish said: "I knew the finish was downhill but I had the perfect lead-out. It was pretty textbook."