Elia Viviani wins Tour of Britain opener

Elia Viviani, stage winner, Tour of Britain 2013, stage one

As predicted by many, the opening stage of the Tour of Britain ended in sprint in front of Drumlanrig castle near Dumfries.

As predicted by almost nobody, the sprinter who crossed the line first was 24 year old Elia Viviani of Cannondale rather than Mark Cavendish of Omega Pharma. In fact, Cavendish's new lead out man Alessandro Petacchi was second in the gallop, with Gerald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka) and CSF Bardiani's rapid Sacha Modolo.

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