Mark Cavendish grabs third win of the season in California

Mark Cavendish won the first stage one of the Tour of California in Sacramento yesterday his trademark sprint finish carrying him clear of JJ Haedo of Argentina. The opening stage of the race saw Cavendish's HTC-Columbia 'train' mass at the front in the closing kilometres to set up the bunch sprint, though a huge crash on the final corner took out rivals including Tom Boonen, the Belgian champion. The 104km stage from Nevada City to Sacramento was 24-year old Cavendish's third victory of the season. Ben Swift took his and Team Sky's first stage race win today, defending his lead on the third and final day of the Tour de Picardie, over 174.5km from Crépy en Valois to Sissonne. The 22-year old, whose only previous professional win came in a stage of last year's Tour of Britain, laid the foundations for overall victory with a win in yesterday's second stage, where the team's lead-out was executed to perfection, with Russell Downing holding on for third. "We really ripped it apart on stage two – the uphill finish was perfect me," said Swift, who finished second in stage one. "The guys rode perfectly and controlled it on the last stage and I'm just really happy to win my first stage race. This wasn't really a race I'd targeted, but I knew it was one I'd have a good opportunity in." The final stage, over 174.5km from Crépy en Valois to Sissonne, saw Swift's seven team-mates, including the British riders Downing, Peter Kennaugh and Geraint Thomas, defend the leader's jersey at the expense of the finishing effort, though in placing ninth Swift did enough to win by seven seconds over Koldo Fernandez and also take the points and young rider's jerseys.The Giro d'Italia witnessed an epic weekend, with yesterday's stage over the strade bianche – white dirt roads – producing thrilling racing. As rain turned the white dust into brown sludge Cadel Evans and Alexandre Vinokourov seized the initiative, Evans winning the stage and Vinokourov taking the pink jersey. Today's first mountaintop finish, at Monte Terminillo, was an anti-climax by comparison. Denmark's Chris Sorensen, the last survivor of a 17-man break that included the British riders Chris Froome and Steve Cummings, won the stage, with Bradley Wiggins finishing among the favourites in 16th. David Millar, third overall after yesterday's stage, slipped to 33rd.