Cavendish second in debut

Young British rider Mark Cavendish nearly won his season debut for T-Mobile Team Wednesday in the Etoile des Besseges, finishing second in a sprint behind Credit Agricole's Angelo Furlan. But the 21-year-old was supposed to have been preparing a sprint for teammate Andre Greipel, not sprinting himself.

"We had planned that Mark would prepare the sprint for Andre," said Directeur Sportif Alan Peiper on the team's website, www.t-mobile-team.com "It got very tight just before the last curve. Andre lost Mark's rear wheel."

Peiper showed understanding for the problem. "We have to top sprinters who are riding together for the first time and still have to figure out how to work together. It will get better for them in the next few days, and then the success will come."

Click here to see results and photos from the first stage of the Etoile des Besseges.