Cavendish off to a good start

T-Mobile stagiaire Mark Cavendish enjoyed a solid performance on today's first Tour of Britain stage, where he finished seventh.

The 21 year-old from the Isle of Man was the best placed T-Mobile rider on the first leg between Glasgow and Castle Douglas in Scotland. Cavendish wasn't satisfied and said, "I was a bit unlucky in the sprint; I got boxed in and ended up only going at 50 percent in the last 100 metres".

Cavendish's promising start will give the T-Mobile Team a welcome lift after Tour de France podium finisher Andreas Klöden had to pull out of the Tour after coming down with bronchitis.

The stage win was decided among a group of three riders who jumped clear of the main field after just 18 miles of racing and stayed ahead until the finish in Castle Douglas where Dane Martin Pederson edged out his two fellow breakaways.