Armitstead, Cavendish and Swift make it a Great British weekend
It has been an incredible weekend for Britain's cyclists.
A week after Bradley Wiggins won the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia and pulled on the pink jersey, Ben Swift, Lizzie Armitstead and then Mark Cavendish all followed suit in their respective races.
From Picardie to the Languedoc at the other end of France and then over in California, British riders were on top. Swift, Armitstead and Cavendish all had the pleasure of pulling on a leader's jersey too.
Can anyone remember a weekend when British cyclists enjoyed so much success on the road in a single weekend?
BRITS ON TOP
BEN SWIFT
Saturday, Cires-les-Mello, northern France
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Tour of Picardie stage two
Ben Swift won the sprint to take his first victory since joining Team Sky from Katusha. He also took the yellow leader's jersey.
Stage win for Swift>>
LIZZIE ARMITSTEAD
Saturday, Rieux-Minervois, southern France
Tour de l'Aude stage one
Using her track craft and turn of speed, Armitstead outsprinted the rest of a 10-rider break that got away 20 kilometres into the 117 kilometre stage. However, Armitstead lost the lead on Sunday when she punctured early in the team time trial, which her Cervélo squad went on to win.
Armitstead wins at the Tour de l'Aude>>
BEN SWIFT
Sunday, Sissonne, northern France
Tour of Picardie overall
Team Sky controlled things on the final day and Swift sprinted to ninth place to clinch a seven-second victory over Spain's Koldo Fernandez. It was the first general classification win for Team Sky.
Overall win for Swift>>
MARK CAVENDISH
Sunday, Sacramento, northern California
Tour of California stage one
Cavendish won the sprint in California after a text-book lead-out from his HTC-Columbia team. It was his third win of the season and the 54th of his career. The victory also gave him the leader's jersey.
Cavendish wins California opener>>
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Founded in 1891, Cycling Weekly and its team of expert journalists brings cyclists in-depth reviews, extensive coverage of both professional and domestic racing, as well as fitness advice and 'brew a cuppa and put your feet up' features. Cycling Weekly serves its audience across a range of platforms, from good old-fashioned print to online journalism, and video.
-
USA Cycling unveils 2025 National Championship schedule with 17 chances to claim the Stars and Stripes jersey
From cycling eSports in February to cyclocross in December, here are the dates and locations for the 2025 season
By Anne-Marije Rook Published
-
Tech of the week: A shockingly expensive steel bike from Colnago, a surprisingly affordable carbon bike from Pinarello, DT Swiss energises our cycling lives and Pog's bars are now yours to buy
Colnago's Steelnova is a thing of beauty but you'll pay for the pleasure, while Pinarello's F1 is an inexpensive gateway to the brand. DT Swiss enters the dynamo hub market and Enve brings Pog's cockpit to market
By Luke Friend Published