On Air One to Three Christy Dehaven | 1:00pm - 3:00pm

Cav takes Tour of Ireland opener

Mark Cavendish has won stage one of the Tour of Ireland, finishing a bike length ahead of Kiwi Julian Dean in a sprint for the line.

The Manx Express hit the front early on the long finishing straight and went for it after being brought into position by his Columbia team, who reined-in the breakaway riders with just a few kilometres to go.

Victory on the 192km Dublin to Waterford stage is the 14th of his second professional season.

Tomorrow's stage, covering 158km from Thurles to Loughrea ,could also end in a sprint finish, giving Cav another chance to show he's the fastest in the world over the final few hundred metres.

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