Cavendish wins California opener

Mark Cavendish sprinted to a dominant victory in the first stage of the Tour of California.

The 29-year-old Manxman, riding for Etixx-Quick-Step, comfortably beat Peter Sagan into second, with Jean-Pierre Drucker third.

‘It was chaotic,’ said Cavendish, who was led out by team-mate Mark Renshaw.

‘When Mark is stressing you know it's stressful. But I don't have to think too much even with the chaos, so I can focus on saving energy for the sprint.’

Monday's second stage of the eight-day race heads 193km from Nevada City to Lodi.