There was the familiar sight of an Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider timing his burst to perfection and winning a sprint finish but instead of Mark Cavendish it was his room-mate Matteo Trentin who took the honours on stage 14 of the Tour de France in Lyon today.

Mark Cavendish answered his critics with victory on stage 13 of the Tour de France to Saint-Amand-Montrond but Chris Froome saw more than a minute of his lead over Alberto Contador blown away by the crosswinds.

Dan Martin slipped back to 13th overall at the Tour de France yesterday following the day’s gruelling 11th stage individual time-trial.

Mark Cavendish had urine thrown at him during today’s time trial in the Tour de France, according to a team-mate.

Mark Cavendish claimed his 24th Tour de France stage victory on the seafront in Marseille yesterday.

Three days after they were the laughing stock of the Tour de France, when their team bus became wedged under the finishing line gantry, Orica GreenEdge capped a marvellous turnaround when they won their second stage in as many days and claimed the race leader’s yellow jersey yesterday.

Orica GreenEdge pipped Mark Cavendish’s Omega Pharma-Quick Step squad by a single second to win today’s team time trial in the Tour de France and make it two stage victories in as many days.

Jan Bakelants’ first victory as a professional was one to savour as the Belgian found himself the surprise leader of the 100th Tour de France last night.

The organisers of the 100th Tour de France came under fire after the first stage of the showpiece event ended in chaos in Bastia.

Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory in Brescia to take the red jersey in the Giro d’Italia and become only the fifth-ever rider to win the points classification in all three of cycling’s Grand Tours.

Bradley Wiggins admitted his disappointment after being forced to abandon the Giro d’Italia, a race the Olympic champion had made his number one priority this season.

Belgium’s Tom Boonen won his third Tour of Flanders today after a lively race which saw several riders injured in crashes, not least Swiss Olympic time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara.