Ongar's Mark Cavendish well placed in Tour of Britain going into stage three

The Ongar star took a back seat during the stage from Knowsley to Llandudno as he nursed a large haematoma on his left thigh following a collision with a race car in Sunday’s opening stage in Liverpool.

Cavendish finished safely in the main bunch as his Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammate Mark Renshaw beat Team Sky’s Ben Swift in a sprint to claim his second Tour of Britain stage win.

"That was pretty exciting, especially that last five kilometres, I would imagine it would make pretty good TV," said Renshaw afterwards. "Nobody in our team knew the finish so we were going by word of mouth and the road book but it certainly suited me. I've got good legs after the Tour de France and was going very well.

"It was a shame that Cav crashed yesterday, it would have been the perfect sprint for him in my wheel but he is still trying to recover a bit. It's pretty amazing he is still in the race really. He had extreme pain today.

"It's great to reward the team with a victory, it's the first time I've been able to do that. It's a fantastic feeling. Over the years I have learned to get that feeling from helping other riders. I've dedicated a big proportion of my career to helping other guys. Not only Cav but Boasson Hagen, Henderson, Griepel, Hushovd - great riders - but it's always nice to win a race personally.

"We were a bit down this morning to be honest. Once again our leader had taken a big hit. Mark is our leader, we are right behind him, we ride the whole season for him. He is one of the biggest champions of the sport. I came to the team to help him 100 per cent. Even when he is not feeling good I will dedicate my efforts to him. Even on a day when he is just at 80 per cent he can win a bike race, he is that kind of rider.”

The race continues in Wales today with a 179.9km stage from Newton to the finish on the first category climb of The Tumble in Abergavenny.