Cavendish claims Romandie prologue win
GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) — Mark Cavendish of Britain overcame a blustery breeze off Lake Geneva to win the prologue to the six-day Tour de Romandie on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old track world champion completed the 1.9-kilometer circuit of the lakeside road in 2 minutes, 7.60 seconds, 0.27 seconds ahead of Daniele Bennati of Italy.
I think the wind was coming from the lake but with the buildings it creates circles and it is quite hard, Cavendish, a sprint specialist, said.
When there is a prologue so short it is always good for me to come. The rest of the race is going to be really hard for me.
Michael Albasini of Switzerland, a Liquigas teammate of Bennati, was third in 2:08.20.
Bradley Wiggins of Britain, Cavendish’s Team High Road teammate, was fifth, 1 second behind.
Cavendish and Wiggins teamed up to win the madison at the track worlds in Manchester last month, and will aim to win gold at the Beijing Olympics in August.
The Olympics is a big priority, but my career is on the road and my job is to win races for High Road, said Cavendish, who had no expectations of hanging on to his lead Wednesday.
The field of 150 riders in 19 teams have a further 656 kilometers of countryside to cover in the French-speaking western part of Switzerland.
Stage one of the UCI Pro Tour event winds 185 kilometers from Morges to Saignelegier.
Race favorites expected to emerge include defending champion Thomas Dekker from the Netherlands, ninth in the prologue, Andreas Kloeden of Germany and Oscar Pereiro of Spain, the 2006 Tour de France winner.
The race ends Sunday in the Olympic Stadium, Lausanne, after a 154-kilometer road stage. E-mail to a friend
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
