Tiernan-Locke ends long wait as Cavendish offers rainbow finish

Endura Racing’s Tiernan-Locke kept out of trouble to come home ahead of Australia’s Nathan Haas, who rides for Garmin, and Italy’s Liquigas rider Damiano Caruso.

The stage was won by Team Sky’s Mark Cavendish, who sprinted to victory over Guildford’s cobbled streets to send him into the Road World Championships next week in confident mood.

But Tiernan-Locke, who will also compete for Britain in Limburg, Holland, deserved his spot in the limelight yesterday after emulating the home success last achieved by Chris Lillywhite in 1993.

The 27-year-old said: “It’s fantastic. It has not really sunk in yet. It was a tough day, a lot tougher than we thought. So I feel relief more than anything.”

Cavendish was roared to victory by thousands of fans on the sprint to the line in Surrey.

“It was my last day in the (world champion’s) rainbow jersey and I wanted to finish it off in style,” he said.

“It was absolutely incredible. The amount of people out on the road has been like the Olympic Games.

“I thought I’d been forgotten about.”

British pair Peter Williams and Kristian House won the sprint and king of the mountains jerseys.

Williams won the stage’s three intermediate sprints to pick up nine points and finish on 45, almost double the amount of the second-placed rider, his Node 4 Giordana team-mate Marcin Bialoblocki.

Omega Pharma-QuickStep won the men’s trade team time-trial and Team Specialised-Lululemon triumphed in the women’s event on the opening day of the UCI Road World Championships in Limburg, Holland yesterday.

Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s six-man team of Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel, Tony Martin, Niki Terpstra, Kirstof Vandewalle and Peter Velits completed the 53.2-km men’s route in one hour three minutes 17.17 seconds, just three seconds clear of second-placed BMC Racing’s squad of Alessandro Ballan, Philippe Gilbert, Taylor Phinney, Marco Pinotti, Manuel Quinziato and Tejay van Garderen.

Australian squad Orica-GreenEdge were third, with Team Sky, including Britons Alex Dowsett, Ian Stannard and Geraint Thomas, ninth.

Britain’s female entrants fared better, with Emma Pooley and Sharon Laws in the AA Drink-Leontinen.nl team which claimed the bronze medal behind Team Specialised-Lululemon’s group of Charlotte Becker, Amber Neben, Evelyn Stevens, Ina Teutenberg, Ellen van Dijk and Trixi Worrack, who completed the 34.2km course in 46:31.63.

Competitors don their nation’s colours for the remainder of the championships, which continues with further time-trials from today until Wednesday.

The junior and Under-23 men’s time-trials take place today, with the junior women and elite women’s races tomorrow, the latter featuring 2010 world champion Pooley and Wendy Houvenaghel for Britain.

Wednesday’s 45.7km elite men’s time-trial features defending champion Martin of Germany, with Dowsett and Chris Froome representing Britain.

Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, runner-up to Martin in 2011, is scheduled to line-up in the elite men’s road race, which takes place next Sunday.

Sheffield’s Radek Handke produced five blistering starts to score a 20-point maximum and dethrone Pawel Idziorek as Yorkshire Cycle Speedway League individual champion on Saturday.

The two Polish riders, in what was the title decider in heat 15 at Firth Park in Heckmondwike, and 26-year-old Handke, who had been given the inside grid against his main rivals in the draw, were again quickly away from the start.

Handke led before cleverly slowing the race on the first corner as Idziorek, who had come out of grid four on his home Heckmondwike track, lost momentum when tangling with Matt Parrott and Laura Watson.

The ploy bought Handke half a dozen bike lengths, and he needed them as Idziorek made a valiant effort to come back.

He was almost in a passing position on turn one of the last lap when both riders broadsided on the dry and slippery track, but Handke was quickly back on his pedals and raced away to the title.

Idziorek came back to win his last race from an inside grid over Darren Kent, who had been beaten by Handke in heat 11, and claim the silver medal.

Doncaster Wheelers hosted their Autumn Road Race at Harworth Sports Pavilion in Bircoates yesterday – an undulating course swept by strong winds. Jonathan Stanlake won the race but was pushed all the way by Beverley’s Peter Fielding-Smith of Richardsons RT/Cube and Paul Hickman of Malton CC.