Britain's Mark Cavendish claimed his first Tour de France stage victory after a thrilling sprint finish.

The 23-year-old beat Spaniard Oscar Freire and German Erik Zabel in a mass sprint to become the first Briton since David Millar in 2003 to win a stage.

Stefan Schumacher retained the overall leader's yellow jersey, while Millar remained in third, 12 seconds behind.

"It's the biggest thing to have happened to me and to do it so young, it's a massive thing," said Cavendish.

"I came here with the intention of winning one (stage), I would have gone home disappointed if I hadn't."

Cavendish from the Isle of Man has been making his mark on the cycling world this year.

Earlier this year he won two stages of the Giro d'Italia and in August he heads out to Beijing as part of Team GB's Olympic cycling squad.

The 23-year-old will partner Bradley Wiggins in the men's madison and is being widely tipped to return home with a medal.

In fact his Olympic commitments could mean that Cavendish doesn't complete this year's Tour de France.

The 232km stage from Cholet to Châteauroux was the longest in this year's Tour and was led almost from start to finish by three breakaway riders.

The French trio of Lilian Jegou, Florent Brard and national champion Nicolas Vogondy opened up a gap of more than eight minutes, which was slowly whittled away by the chasing peloton.

Vogondy broke away from his compatriots in the final 1.5km, only to be overhauled by the sprinters around 30 metres from the line.

Cavendish held off late attacks from Thor Hushovd, Oscar Freire and Erik Zabel, and pulled away from his rivals in the final metres to claim glory.

More to follow.

(BBC)

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