Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory in Guildford to win the Surrey stage of The Tour of Britain for the second successive year. The Omega Pharma Quick-Step rider enjoyed a perfect leadout from teammate Alessandro Petacchi to surge clear of his rivals at the foot of Guildford’s cobbled, uphill High Street.
Behind the Manxman came two fellow Tour of Britain stage winners from the 2013 race, Elia Viviani (Drumlanrig Castle) and Gerald Ciolek (MTN Qhubeka), with race leader Sir Bradley Wiggins finishing 15th and losing six seconds of his overnight lead.
Wiggins remains 26 seconds clear of Martin Elmiger who finished in the front group of 12 riders, with Simon Yates staying third overall going into the final day’s London stage.
Stage Eight the London Stage presented by TfL gets underway at 15:30 and is a ten lap race around the 8.8km kilometre circuit at the heart of the capital.
Ahead of Stage Eight is the Johnson Health Tech Westminster Grand Prix at 10:30, with a 79-rider field of Britain’s top domestic female racers, led by MG Maxifuel’s Hannah Barnes and including the Matrix Fitness Race Academy team.
Live coverage of the final stage of The Tour of Britain is on ITV4 and British Eurosport from 16:00 with highlights exclusively on ITV4 at 21:00.
Stage Seven, Epsom Racecourse to Guildford, Brief Results
Mark Cavendish, GBR, Omega Pharma Quick-Step, 3:46:57
Elia Viviani, ITA, Cannondale Pro Cycling, st
Gerald Ciolek, GER, MTN Qhubeka, st
Blaz Jarc, SLO, Team NetApp Endura, st
Jacob Rathe, USA, Garmin Sharp, st
Matteo Pelucchi, ITA, IAM Cycling, st
Chris Opie, GBR, Team UK Youth, st
Martin Elmiger, SUI, IAM Cycling, st
Alessandro Bazzana, ITA, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling, st
Sam Bennett, IRL, AN Post Chain Reaction, st
IG General Classification, post-Stage Seven
Sir Bradley Wiggins, GBR, Sky Pro Cycling, 27:57:59
Martin Elmiger, SUI, IAM Cycling, + 0.26
Simon Yates, GBR, Great Britain, + 1.06
David Lopez, ESP, Sky Pro Cycling, + 1.08
Sergio Pardilla, ESP, MTN Qhubeka, + 1.16
Chain Reaction Cycles Points Classification, post-Stage Seven
Martin Elmiger, SUI, IAM Cycling, 56pts
Elia Viviani, ITA, Cannondale Pro Cycling, 43pts
Gerald Ciolek, GER, MTN Qhubeka, 41pts
SKODA King of the Mountains Classification, post-Stage Seven
Angel Madrazo, SPA, Movistar, 72pts
Kristian House, GBR, Rapha Condor JLT, 47pts
Peter Williams, GBR, Team IG Sigma Sport, 33pts
Yodel Direct Sprints Classification, post-Stage Seven
Angel Madrazo, SPA, Movistar, 30pts
Peter Williams, GBR, Team IG Sigma Sport, 25pts
Aaron Gate, NZL, AN Post Chain Reaction, 18pts
Under-23 Rider Classification, post-Stage Seven
Simon Yates, GBR, Great Britain, 27:59:05
Alistair Slater, GBR, Great Britain, + 9.40
Tom Moses, GBR, Team Raleigh, + 13.18
Team Classification, post-Stage Seven
Sky Pro Cycling, 83:56:44
IAM Cycling, + 0:57
Sojasun, + 6:37