Armstrong steps down from Livestrong

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Lance Armstrong has stepped down as chairman of his cancer charity, Livestrong, and has been dropped by sponsor Nike.

The fallout from the United States Anti-Doping Agency's report into doping continues.
The American was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from cycling for life by USADA after he chose not to contest charges despite maintaining his innocence.
Last week USADA published their report, including evidence from 11 of his former team-mates, and concluded the US Postal Service team ran "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen".
Armstrong made the decision to hand over the chairmanship of Livestrong to vice-chairman Jeff Garvey "to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career".
Nike will continue to support Livestrong but have terminated their contract with Armstrong "due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade".
Armstrong set up Livestrong in 1997 following his recovery from cancer and the charity has raised nearly 500million US dollars to help people affected by the disease.
In a statement, Armstrong said: "It has been a great privilege to help grow it from a dream into an organisation that today has served 2.5million people and helped spur a cultural shift in how the world views cancer survivors. This organisation, its mission and its supporters are incredibly dear to my heart.
"I have had the great honour of serving as this foundation's chairman for the last five years and its mission and success are my top priorities.
"Today, therefore, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of controversy surrounding my cycling career, I will conclude my chairmanship.
"My family and I have devoted our lives to the work of the foundation and that will not change. We plan to continue our service to the foundation and the cancer community."
Nike had previously stood by Armstrong but on Wednesday announced they could do so no longer.
In a statement, the sportswear giant said: "Due to the seemingly insurmountable evidence that Lance Armstrong participated in doping and misled Nike for more than a decade, it is with great sadness that we have terminated our contract with him.
"Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs in any manner. Nike plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer."
Lance Armstrong Allegations Timeline
2010
May - Armstrong's former US Postal team-mate Floyd Landis launches allegations against the Texan.
2011
May - Forced to deny claims made by former team-mate Tyler Hamilton that they took performance enhancing drugs together.
2012
February - An investigation into alleged doping by Armstrong is dropped by federal prosecutors in California.
June 13 - The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirm they have initiated legal proceedings over allegations of doping against Armstrong.
June 30 - The USADA confirm they will file formal doping charges against Armstrong.
July 9 - Armstrong files a lawsuit in a US federal court asking for a temporary restraining order against the agency. Armstrong also claims the USADA offered "corrupt inducements" to other cyclists to testify against him.
July 11 - Armstrong refiles lawsuit against the USADA after initial lawsuit was dismissed by a judge as being a "lengthy and bitter polemic", designed to attract media attention and public sympathy.
August 20 - Armstrong's legal action dismissed in court.
August 24 - Armstrong announces he will not fight doping charges filed against him but insists he is innocent. He is stripped of all his titles and banned from cycling for life by USADA.
October 10 - The USADA claim 11 of Armstrong's former team-mates have testified against him, revealing "the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen".
October 17 - Armstrong resigns as chairman of his cancer charity, Livestrong, on the same day that he is dropped by sponsor Nike.

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Cycling: Lopez joins Team Sky

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Team Sky have added Spanish rider David Lopez to their roster of riders for the next two seasons.

The 31-year-old specialist climber joins from Movistar, after six years with the team formerly known as Caisse d'Epargne during which he claimed a stage victory at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana.
A dedicated team player, or 'domestique', Lopez is relishing his role within the British-based squad.
He said: "I am very happy to have signed for Team Sky.
"As soon as Team Sky approached me, there was nobody else I wanted to sign for and I want to work as hard as I can to gain success for the team.
"Most of the time that will be for someone else, but if the chance arises for me as well, then I will definitely try to take it. The most important thing though, is that everyone is happy with my work."
Team Sky on Thursday announced the arrival of Italian rider Dario Cataldo, also on a two-year contract, and last week brought in experienced Norwegian Gabriel Rasch.

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London 2012: The biggest controversies

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Olympic Games tend to generate controversies and London 2012 was no exception.

Cycling
Philip Hindes admitted to deliberately crashing before propelling Great Britain to team pursuit glory but the IOC and International Cycling Union said the gold medal would stand. The 19-year-old's admission appeared to be naive but not a contravention of the rules. Hindes fell after making a wobbly start in qualifying before picking himself up to help Britain to two world record rides as Sir Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny successfully defended their title.
Hindes: I crashed on purpose
Badminton
The Olympic badminton competition was hit by a match-fixing scandal when eight players were kicked out for deliberately trying to lose. Two Chinese players, four from South Korea and two from Indonesia all tried to fix their matches to manipulate the women's draw in front of angry fans. All four pairs had already qualified for the last eight and were trying to avoid meeting the favourites.
Four badminton pairs disqualified
Hidayat shocked by badminton fiasco
Yu quits after Olympic scandal
IOC to investigate badminton coaches
Swimming
Rumblings over the remarkable performance of Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen changed to overt suspicion when a leading American coach described her world-record breaking race as "disturbing". John Leonard, the executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association questioned how the 16-year-old (below), who took five seconds off her personal best and more than a second off the world record in the 400m individual medley. The IOC insisted there was no reason to question her performances.
Doubts cast on Ye Shiwen's exploits
FINA hit out against Ye allegations
Phelps believes in new swim star Ye
Ye gains support over suspicions
Fencing
South Korean fencer Shin Lam thought she was through to the final of the women's epee when, to her horror and that of her coach Shim Jaesung, the clock was reset from zero to one second. When the action resumed German Britta Heidemann scored a do-or-die hit that gave her a place in the final against Ukraine's Yana Shemyakana. Shin broke down in tears and refused to leave the piste for two hours before eventually conceding defeat.

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Kulhavy rides to gold in mountain biking

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Jaroslav Kulhavy of the Czech Republic won Olympic gold with a sprint finish at the end of the London 2012 men's mountain bike race at Hadleigh Farm.

The 2011 world champion had enough strength to hold off Nino Schurter of Switzerland in one hour 29 minutes 07 seconds, with Italy's Marco Fontana third, 25secs adrift.
Julien Absalon of France, the 2004 and 2008 champion, did not finish after falling down the field following a puncture.
Britain's Liam Killeen, who was fifth in Athens and seventh in Beijing, crashed out on the second of seven laps, tumbling at Deane's Drop and suffering a suspected broken left ankle.
The 30-year-old from Malvern was transferred by ambulance to hospital for surgery.
Germany's Robert Forstemann, who entered the mountain bike event to exploit a loophole and take a place on the velodrome track, did not even start the race, which was seven laps of a 4.7-kilometre route, carved into an Essex hillside overlooking the Thames estuary.
His team-mate Manuel Fumic, who finished seventh, said: "He's a track guy. I don't think he is able to ride a mountain bike."
Adrien Niyonshuti, a survivor of the 1994 genocide, did start for Rwanda, while Killeen began in 25th position on the grid and was never in contention.
Absalon lost touch with Schurter, who won four rounds and the overall World Cup series title this season, and Kulhavy on the first lap.
Schurter, Kulhavy and Fontana established a narrow lead at the end of the opening circuit, with Jose Antonio Hermida of Spain leading the chase. Killeen tumbled down Deane's Drop, a steep boulder section, and was joined in failing to finish lap two by Absalon.
South Africa's Burry Stander and Hermida bridged the gap at the end of the third lap to join the three leaders.
Kulhavy took the lead on the fifth lap and stretched the group with the relentless pace, opening up a narrow lead over Schurter and Fontana with two laps to go, with Stander and Hermida losing contact.
Kulhavy and Schurter were vying for the win, with Fontana dropped in the closing stages of the final lap.
Schurter moved to the front but Kulhavy rounded his rival to triumph.
"It was really hard, because we went full-gas the whole time," Kulhavy said.
"I was amazingly strong, I gave everything for this race. I put in all my energy and it's amazing. This race was important this year, nothing else.
"I won everything, world champs, world cups. Now I am Olympic champion."
Schurter had a strong season and was one of the pre-race favourites, along with Kulhavy and Absalon, the two-time Olympic champion.
The Swiss said: "It was a great race. I performed to the maximum. Just at the end, Jaroslav was a bit stronger than me.
"He's not been so strong this whole season but today he was very strong and he deserved it.
"It is hard to get second, but it was a great day. I have to be happy with silver. It was an awesome feeling to compete here."
"The first lap was the worst thing that could happen to me, because I did hard work for four years to be 100% today, and to have a mechanical problem is the worst luck," Absalon said.
"I had a puncture at a bad moment. It's hard to finish my last Olympics like this.
"I was in good shape but, after one lap, I was in 27th place, 55 seconds behind. I didn't have any chance to reach the podium."

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Strombergs, Pajon ride to BMX gold

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Britain's Liam Phillips crashed and Shanaze Reade finished sixth as Maris Strombergs of Latvia and Mariana Pajon of Colombia won the men's and women's Olympic BMX titles at the London 2012 Velopark.

After Reade finished well behind, Phillips, who suffered a fractured collarbone at May's BMX World Championships in Birmingham, tumbled to the tarmac on the penultimate turn.
The 23-year-old from Burnham-on-Sea appeared to start well, but finished eighth as Strombergs successfully defended his title. World champion Sam Willoughby of Australia was second with Colombia's Carlos Oquendo third.
Reade told BBC Sport: "I'm pretty emotionless. I'm sure it will sink in, but the Olympic Games is the biggest platform you can race at and you've just got to give it your best.
"I just tried to stay focused and do my absolute best and today [Friday] it just wasn't good enough."
Reade's form appeared promising in the three-run semi-finals, but the one-run final, in less than 40 seconds, left no room for error and she was never in contention for the top place on the podium after a hesitant start.
Reade added: "I've worked for four years for this and it's over. I've just got to pick myself up and come back.
"I did everything I could. It's fantastic everyone's come out and supported me. I'm just gutted I didn't get a medal.
"I didn't want to go too early on the start and mess up my chances.
"I backed back a little bit and by the time I did that, I was on the inside, so everybody was closing in and I couldn't come back from that."

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Sir Chris Hoy wins historic gold in cycling

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Sir Chris Hoy received congratulations from Sir Steve Redgrave after winning a British record sixth Olympic gold with victory in the men's keirin.

Hoy and Laura Trott won their second gold medals of the London 2012 Olympics as Britain equalled their Beijing track bounty of seven wins from 10 events - but there was no golden goodbye for Victoria Pendleton.
Hoy won the final event of the London track programme with a stunning triumph in the men's keirin to surpass Redgrave's record haul of gold medals, with the rower giving the 36-year-old a warm embrace in recognition of the achievement.
It was Hoy's seventh Olympic medal in all - drawing level with Bradley Wiggins' British record - and the 36-year-old was in tears as he received his medal and stepped on to the podium before a partisan capacity crowd.
The Scot does not expect to go in search of more in Rio de Janeiro in four years' time, but admits the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in 2014 would be a "dream ending".
He told BBC1: "I'm 99.9% sure I won't be competing there in Rio.
"How can you top this? This is phenomenal.
"Glasgow? That's another question.
"If I can keep going to Glasgow that would be a dream ending for me but when you get to my age you can't look too far ahead, you have to focus on the here and now."
On his keirin victory, he said: "I'm in shock. You try to compose yourself and try to be able to take it all in but this is surreal.
"This is what I always wanted. I wanted to win gold in front of my home crowd.
"I've done the team sprint, I saw Jason (Kenny), the team pursuit girls, the team pursuit boys, everyone stepping up to the plate, Laura (Trott), and I just wanted to do my bit for the team as well.
"Thankfully it worked out."
Trott won the women's omnium as the duo joined Kenny in becoming double gold medal winners in London.
But Pendleton was denied a final flourish as perennial rival Anna Meares of Australia claimed sprint gold with a dramatic 2-0 win over the Briton.
Pendleton's overriding emotion was that of relief at the end of her stellar career.
She told BBC1: "I'm just so relieved right now. I've been a bit overwhelmed with emotion.
"I would have loved to have won on my final race but I'm just so glad that's it all done and I can move on."
She also paid tribute to Meares, who has been her main adversary throughout her career, and it was perhaps fitting that she bowed out against the Australian.
"I'm glad that it got to that stage," Pendleton said. "I think she's the best rider in the field and it's the way that it should have been.
"Everything turned out right with Anna and myself in the final. She's a fantastic competitor, we've met many a time, and I wish her all the best but I'm very glad to be saying that's the last time I have to go through that."
Pendleton was denied a ride-off for gold in the team sprint after officials ruled an illegal changeover had occurred in between her and Jess Varnish.
She was victim of the officials once more in the first bout of the best-of-three final.
She added: "I was really annoyed because I'm sure that she touched me and it caused me to move up.
"I can't believe, twice in one competition, I've been disqualified and relegated, it's unheard of. It's a bit of a surprise, it did knock my confidence a bit I must say."
While Pendleton missed out on a British record, Hoy secured his.
Hoy added: "I can't express the feeling that I'm having right now, it's just unbelievable, it's the most amazing feeling.
"This is the perfect end to my Olympic career, I look back four Games ago to Sydney and I was just over the moon to have a silver medal.
"If I'd stopped then I'd have been a happy boy but to have gone to Athens, Beijing and to here, I can't put into words what it means.
"There's no way I could have done it without the support team we've got here. This is very much a team effort and I'm literally just the one person you see at the top of the pile. There are 100 guys working away in the background that don't get the credit.
"I think people see the final polished product of the British team and they think we must be super confident, we must win all the time it must be easy for us, it's anything but.
"There have been some really difficult moments and to get through them all and succeed here, it's just one of the greatest feelings I've ever had."

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Meares pips Pendleton to cycling gold

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Great Britain's Victoria Pendleton was denied a third Olympic title as her perennial rival Anna Meares claimed sprint gold at the London 2012 velodrome.

After watching Laura Trott become a double Olympic champion with victory in the omnium, Pendleton met Meares in the best-of-three final in a repeat of the 2008 gold medal race which the Briton won.
The 31-year-old was aiming to finish her career on a high with a third Olympic gold - a record for a British female - and her superior pace saw her cross the line first in the first bout, but she strayed from the sprinting lane under supreme pressure from the physical Meares and commissaires awarded the Australian victory.
Pendleton had to respond in the second bout to force a decider and Meares was in front first, watching her opponent.
Meares came to a near halt at the end of the first of three laps, forcing Pendleton to the front.
The Australian rounded Pendleton on the outside and the Briton could not respond as Meares celebrated before the line by punching the air.
It ended hopes of a fairytale conclusion to Pendleton's sensational career and saw Meares take revenge for Beijing.
China's Guo Shuang won bronze with a 2-0 defeat of Kristina Vogel of Germany.
Pendleton told BBC1: "I'm just so relieved right now.
"I've been a bit overwhelmed with emotion.
"I would have loved to have won on my final race but I'm just so glad that's it all done and I can move on."
She also paid tribute to Meares, who has been her main adversary throughout her career, and it was perhaps fitting that she bowed out against the Australian.
"I'm glad that it got to that stage," Pendleton said. "I think she's the best rider in the field and it's the way that it should have been.
"Everything turned out right with Anna and myself in the final. She's a fantastic competitor, we've met many a time, and I wish her all the best but I'm very glad to be saying that's the last time I have to go through that."
On her relegation in the first race, she added: "I was really annoyed because I'm sure that she touched me and it caused me to move up.
"I can't believe, twice in one competition, I've been disqualified and relegated, it's unheard of. It's a bit of a surprise, it did knock my confidence a bit I must say."

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Kenny storms to sprint gold

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Great Britain's Jason Kenny won gold in the men's sprint at the velodrome, fully justifying his selection ahead of 2008 champion Sir Chris Hoy with his third Games gold.

Kenny's previous two Olympic gold medals came in the team sprint alongside Hoy, but now the 24-year-old from Bolton is an Olympic individual champion after a sensational 2-0 final victory over three-time world champion Gregory Bauge of France.
The Briton qualified quickest for the three-day competition on Saturday and outpaced Bauge in the first of their best-of-three contest.
Kenny then led out the Frenchman and just had too much speed for his opponent to send the velodrome into raptures.
It was Britain's fifth gold from seven medal events, with the potential for further success on the final day of racing on Tuesday.
Australia's Shane Perkins claimed bronze with a 2-0 defeat of Trinidad's Njisane Nicholas Phillip.
The one rider per nation rule introduced by the International Cycling Union and International Olympic Committee weakened the field and saw Kenny selected ahead of Hoy.
But a Kenny versus Bauge final was befitting of the blue riband event.
Kenny finished second to Hoy in Beijing and to Bauge at April's Track Cycling World Championships in Melbourne.
The Briton was awarded the 2011 world title after Bauge was stripped of the rainbow jersey for an anti-doping infringement.
Both men made serene progress to the final, with Kenny beating Phillip 2-0 in his best-of-three semi-final and Bauge seeing off Perkins in the other last-four tie.
Bauge was drawn on the inside for the first final contest, which meant he had to go in front of Kenny, turning to watch his opponent.
Kenny weaved up and down the banking to tease Bauge and then used the slope to his advantage to speed past his rival and win by a wheel's length and go 1-0 up.
The draw then put Kenny in front, but the Briton was unflustered and had too much speed for his opponent as he powered to a supreme victory.
Victoria Pendleton's Olympic odyssey was set to continue into the final day of the London 2012 track programme after she advanced to the semi-finals of the corresponding women's event.
Defending champion and six-time world sprint champion Pendleton advanced with a 2-0 best-of-three quarter-final win over Olga Panarina of Belarus.
The 31-year-old from Stotfold was seeking a third gold to become Britain's most successful female Olympian and is set to retire after tomorrow's racing.
Friday's victory in the keirin saw Pendleton move level with athlete Kelly Holmes, swimmer Rebecca Adlington and sailors Shirley Robertson, Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb on two Olympic gold medals.
Pendleton was a comfortable winner of the first bout with Panarina and a decider was not required as the Briton won the second contest by 10 metres, showing her blistering form.
It has been an eventful competition thus far for Pendleton, who together with Jess Varnish set a world record in the team sprint before the pair were relegated by officials for a takeover infringement.

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Pendleton storms to keirin gold

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Victoria Pendleton claimed Great Britain's third gold medal in two days of competition at the London 2012 Olympic velodrome with a stunning triumph in the keirin.

Moments after watching Ed Clancy, Geraint Thomas, Peter Kennaugh and Steven Burke clock a world record three minutes 51.659 seconds to triumph by a supreme margin ahead of arch-rivals Australia, Pendleton delivered in her least favoured event.
In the event which begins behind a motorised Derny bike, the 31-year-old from Stotfold, who is set to retire after London 2012, stormed to victory. Guo Shuang of China was second, with Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong third.
The win sparked jubilant scenes from coach Jan van Eijden, British Cycling performance director Dave Brailsford and head coach Shane Sutton and was Britain's third gold medal of the track programme after Sir Chris Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny won the men's team sprint on day one.
It was Britain's third success from four events.
It was Pendleton's second gold after her Olympic sprint title in 2008 and continued an eventful final competition for the multiple world champion.
Along with Jess Varnish, Pendleton was eliminated from the two-woman, two-lap team sprint for a takeover infringement on day one of the track programme, leaving the duo in tears.
But Pendleton, who last won the keirin world title in 2007, responded in an event brought into the Games for the first time.
World champion Anna Meares made an early move as soon as the pace-setting bike went off the track, but Pendleton accelerated from one-and-a-half laps to go and took to the front before sensationally pulling away to claim her second Olympic gold.
Meares, of Australia, was a distant fifth.
Pendleton celebrated with her fiance Scott Gardner, a coach with British Cycling.
Pendleton's focus was now set to turn to the individual sprint, which begins on Sunday and finishes on Tuesday's final day of the track programme.
Earlier, the Great Britain men's team pursuit squad claimed a thrilling Olympic gold, with Thomas declaring the foundations for victory came last November.
Thomas told the BBC: "The amount of work we've had to put in...
"In November we were at the track in Manchester at half seven in the morning. They stopped us going to see a Rihanna concert in November.
"They've been on our backs since then. It's been full on.
"To finish it off is amazing.
"I was ill last week and mentally it's been very hard trying to get back to where I was.
"Without these boys I couldn't have done it. They were super.
"The crowd is unbelievable. My ears are ringing. It's too loud."
Australia's Jack Bobridge, Glenn O'Shea, Rohan Dennis and Michael Hepburn finished with silver in 3mins 54.581secs.
The British quartet, who won Track Cycling World Championships gold in Melbourne in April, kept the Olympic title in Britain after Clancy, Thomas, Bradley Wiggins and Paul Manning won in Beijing.
New Zealand's Sam Bewley, Marc Ryan, Jesse Sergent and Aaron Gate claimed bronze in 3:55.952, with Russia's Evgeny Kovalev, Ivan Kovalev, Alexey Markov and Alexander Serov finishing fourth (3:58.282).
Clancy's focus will now turn to the six-discipline omnium, which is set to begin tomorrow.
It was the second time the British quartet had improved the world record they set in Melbourne in April and now they have the four fastest times in history.
Clancy, Thomas, Burke and Kennaugh soaked up the adulation of the partisan crowd, finding family members around the spectator seating of the velodrome on their laps of honour while waving the Union flag.
Andy Tennant, meanwhile, was an unused reserve and therefore missed out on a medal.
The performance came with Tour de France winner Wiggins watching on, as well as prolific winner Mark Cavendish and first Tour stage winner Brian Robinson.
Thomas and Kennaugh's focus could now turn to the road full-time, with their potential apparently unlimited.

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Mustapa ready for Olympic spotlight

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Malaysian cyclist Fatehah Mustapa is set to become the first Malaysian woman to compete in Olympic track cycling at the upcoming Olympic games in London.

Noah Tan
Fatehah's precocious talent was on show at the recent 2012 Asian Cycling Championships, as the 23-year-old won a Bronze in the 500metres Time trial, Silver in the Sprint event and more impressively, a Gold medal in the Keirin category.
Her win at the Asian Cycling Championships is the biggest win of her career till date; a sign that Fatehah is ready for the big stage.
These plaudits merely added on to the already impressive haul of three Gold medals in the 2011 SEA Games (500m time trial, sprint and team sprint), a testament to the remarkable transformation she has undergone in the past four years after landing Bronze at the 2007 SEA Games.
Fatehah's immense improvement is not lost on her cycling coach John Beasley who is already dreaming big for the upcoming Olympic Games in London.
"With her I think she's the secret weapon for the Olympics. I really believe she can medal at the Olympics." Beasley told ESPNews.
He added: "I'm very confident she's going to be an Olympic finalist in the Keirin, and certainly it wouldn't shock me if she was on the podium and she could be on the spot, that's how good she is."
Fatehah shares her coach's sentiments.
She is determined not to be in London just to make up the numbers and wants to bring back gold for her country. However, Fatehah is under no illusions as to what is required in order for her Olympic dreams to come true.
She said: "I'm looking for it - but if I'm lucky because Keirin is a little hard."
"For now my performance is fine. But I need more power and strength - because my coach said I need more power and strength - I need to work hard."
Victory at the Olympics will require Fatehah to overcome several other top cyclists in the world, one of whom is the legendary Australian Anna Meares.
Meares, who has won 10 World Championship Gold medals, is something of an inspiration to Fatehah and to finally be able to compete against her 'heroine' will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the Olympics for the Malaysian.
Fatehah gushed: "I like to watch Anna Meares from Australia and Victoria Pendleton from England. They are really good."
 Despite having represented Malaysia in other major cycling events, Fatehah recognises that the Olympics will be her biggest test to date and she hopes the memories of her first Olympic participation will be positive.
She said: "I'm very excited - I'm scared because this is my first time for really big games. Hopefully I can do better than during the World Cup and the Asian Championships."
Talented, dilligent and ambitious, Fatehah may just have what it takes to bring home the Gold

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Cavendish pulls out of Vuelta

Mark Cavendish has pulled out of the Vuelta a Espana.

The Manx rider withdrew during Tuesday's fourth stage of the event.
Participants have been subjected to fierce heat in the last few days with suggestions the temperature had adversely affected the sprinter when he endured a tough start before falling further behind the main peloton.
And during Tuesday's 170km Baza to Sierra Nevada leg, it emerged he had pulled out. Cavendish follows HTC-Highroad team-mate Matt Goss in withdrawing after he exited in stage one.
Of wider concern for Cavendish will be his preparations for the World Championships road race in Copenhagen on September 25. The Tour de France green jersey winner will now seemingly need special dispensation to compete in warm-up races before then, due to rules concerning the withdrawal from ongoing events.
The Vuelta does not reach a conclusion until September 11 - the day on which the Tour of Britain begins.
Katusha's Daniel Moreno took the stage victory in the first mountain finish of the tour, fending off Chris Anker Sorensen of Saxo Bank-SunGard by three seconds with Irishman Dan Martin leading home the peloton.
France's Sylvain Chavanel took the overall lead from Spain's Pablo Lastras.

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Tour Down Under licence extended

The Tour Down Under will continue to open the World Tour after being granted a four-year extension of its licence from the Union Cycliste Internationale.

Regarded as South Australia's premier sporting event, the Tour Down Under was the first non-European event to join the UCI ProTour in 2008.
UCI President Pat McQuaid welcomed the decision, highlighting what he called "the impressive development of Australian cycling, which has an excellent ambassador in Cadel Evans, World Champion 2009 and winner of the Tour de France this year.
Australian cyclists Stuart O'Grady (twice), Michael Rogers, Patrick Jonker, Simon Gerrans, Allan Davis and Cameron Meyer have been past winners of the tour.
German star Andre Griepel has been the most successful overseas rider, winning the race in 2008 and 2010.
The 2011 Tour Down Under will run from January 15-22.

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Cycling: Homecoming for Cadel Evans

Cadel Evans is to visit his native Australia on a flying visit to celebrate his win in the Tour de France.

Evans, who became the first Australian to win the coveted title when he crossed the finish line on the Champs Elysee, will visit Melbourne on August 12.
His visit will include a parade through the city and a short bike ride.
Evans wrote on his website, www.cadelevans.com.au: "From here, it looks like we will be coming to Australia
for a very short time - it will be my first time home during the season for a while, other than for competition. Looking forward to that."
After visiting Australia Evans, who has re-signed for the BMC team until 2014, will head for the United States to take part in the inaugural USA Pro Cycling Challenge from August 22-28.

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Cycling: Blythe off to a flyer in Poland

Great Britain's Adam Blythe finished 10th following a bunch sprint on the opening day of the Tour de Poland on Sunday, with German Marcel Kittel taking the victory.

Kittel completed the 101.5-kilometre ride from Pruszkow to Warsaw in a time of two hours, seven minutes and 26 seconds, with Omega Pharma-Lotto rider Blythe awarded the same time after finishing in the chasing pack.
The quartet of Britons in the Team Sky line-up also came home in the main group of riders, with Ian Stannard 18th, Peter Kennaugh 55th, Chris Froome 112th and Steve Cummings 132nd.

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Cadel Evans wins Tour de France

Australian Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) has won the Tour de France. Britain's Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) clinched the green jersey by winning the final stage in Paris.

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Evans nears Tour de France title

Cadel Evans is poised to win his first Tour de France title after wresting the yellow jersey from Andy Schleck in the penultimate stage in Grenoble.

Evans (BMC Racing) assumed the race leader's maillot jaune with a supreme display on today's 42.5-kilometre time-trial.
And the 34-year-old, Tour runner-up in 2007 and 2008, will likely become the first Australian winner of cycling's most prestigious race after turning a 57-second deficit to Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek) into a one minute 34 second advantage in the foot hills of the Alps.
Evans entered Saturday in third place overall, almost a minute behind Andy Schleck and four seconds adrift of Frank Schleck, but his superior ability against the clock told.
Evans finished in 55 minutes 40 seconds, 2mins 31secs quicker than Andy Schleck, who now must settle for second place for a third successive year.
Barring a freak accident or illness, Sunday's 95km 21st and final stage from Creteil to the Champs-Elysees in Paris will see Evans crowned Tour champion.
Tony Martin (HTC-Highroad) won Saturday's stage in the foothills of the Alps in 55mins 33secs, seven seconds ahead of Evans, with three-time Tour champion Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) third in 56:39.
The 21st stage to Paris is traditionally a celebratory procession for the overall contenders, with the sprinters battling for supremacy on the Champs-Elysees, where Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) will target a third successive win and a first points classification's green jersey.
Provided he negotiates the final route safely, a first Tour title for Evans should be secure.
Evans was beaten in the 2007 Tour by Contador by 23 seconds and in 2008 by Carlos Sastre, but he has consistently performed in 2011 and convincingly claimed the title.
The former world mountain bike champion gained time on the Schleck brothers with every revolution of the pedals.
Andy Schleck, who was second to Contador in 2009 and 2010, must now face up to taking second place on the podium once again after one day in the yellow jersey following Friday's final day in the Alps.
Frank Schleck will likely step onto the podium for the first time, but France's Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), who was overtaken by Andy Schleck in the yellow jersey on Friday, will have to settle for fourth place, 3:20 behind Evans.
Contador is set to end a difficult defence of his title in fifth place and lies 3:57 behind entering Sunday's final day.
World and Olympic time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara set the early pace, clocking 57:15, but was soon succeeded as race leader by Richie Porte (Saxo Bank-SunGard), Belgium's Thomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil) and then Martin.
The German's time was apparently unassailable and with the stage seemingly wrapped up, the focus turned to the overall fight.
Due to his overall position at the start of the day, Evans was third last to start, with Frank Schleck and Andy Schleck starting at three minutes intervals behind him.
Evans began quickly and continued to set a steady pace and reached the first time check, which came after 15km, in 20:33.
Andy Schleck covered the same distance 36 seconds slower, seeing his lead on the road reduced to 21 seconds.
Midway through the stage Evans had cancelled out his time deficit to Andy Schleck and with every pedal stroke he moved further into the lead.
By the second time check, 15km from the finish, Evans was 1:42 seconds ahead of Andy Schleck and in the maillot jaune by 25 seconds.
As Evans passed the third time check, 7km from the end, two seconds behind Martin's time, his overall lead stretched to almost a minute.
The Australian eased off in the finale so as not to take any unnecessary risks and finished second only to Martin on the stage, with Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) 1:06 behind the German in third.
Andy Schleck came in 2:38 behind Martin in 58:11 as his quest for the Tour title remained elusive.
Frank Schleck finished in 58:14 and place 19th.

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Cycling: Cavendish ready to suffer

Mark Cavendish is ready for a battle for survival in the Alps as he bids to retain the green jersey all the way to Paris.

The Tour makes a brief excursion from France, with the 179km 17th stage from Gap finishing in Pinerolo, before returning from the Italian town as part of a three-day trek through the Alps.
The likes of Thomas Voeckler, Cadel Evans, Alberto Contador and the Schleck brothers will be looking to thrive on the Alpine ascents, while Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) will merely be aiming to complete the stages inside the time limit.
The 26-year-old from the Isle of Man said: "There are three big days ahead of us now and we'll have to fight all the way.
"I'm just going to have to suffer the next three days and try and save some energy (for Paris)."
Cavendish's next opportunity to score points is likely to come on Sunday's finale on the Champs-Elysees, where he will be seeking a third straight win.
On yesterday's stage 16 from Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux to Gap, Cavendish saw his points classification lead reduced, but only by three points to 34.
The Manxman has 319 points, with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) second on 285, Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) third on 250 and yesterday's stage winner Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) fourth on 235.
"I'm pleased with how things went," said Cavendish, after seeing his rivals struggle to reduce the deficit.
"We'll keep on trying to keep the green jersey."
The maillot vert battle will likely take second billing behind the race for the yellow jersey, with Voeckler holding a lead of one minute 45 seconds over Evans.
Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek) is third, 1min 49secs behind, Andy Schleck fourth, 3:03 behind, and defending champion Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) sixth, 3:42 adrift.
Meanwhile, Geraint Thomas has signed a three-year contract extension with Team Sky.
The 25-year-old from Cardiff, riding in his third Tour, has been among the race's main protagonists, attracting admiring glances from the wider cycling world.
However, Thomas has now committed his future to the British-run, BSkyB-backed squad run by Dave Brailsford, who combines his role as Team Sky principal with his job as British Cycling performance director.
Brailsford added: "The last two weeks at the Tour de France have underlined again his world-class abilities and we look forward to seeing even more from him over the next three years."

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Hushovd stuns Roy to claim Tour win

World champion Thor Hushovd on Friday foiled Jeremy Roy's bid for a first Tour de France stage win with a stunning victory in Lourdes.

Roy (FDJ), who was a key component of Thursday's breakaway, was to the fore again on Friday's 152.5-kilometre 13th stage from Pau to Lourdes, which included the hors categorie (beyond category) ascent of the Col d'Aubisque.
But the Frenchman was caught 2.2km from the end and Norwegian Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) surged for the line and was able to pause and celebrate a sensational Tour success in the rainbow jersey.
It was Hushovd's ninth stage win of his career, adding an individual success to the team time-trial triumph on stage two in Les Essarts.
David Moncoutie (Cofidis) was second, while Roy (FDJ), so long the day's leader, had to settle for third place after being passed by his compatriot in the closing stages.

Moncoutie was 10 seconds behind Hushovd, with Roy 26 seconds adrift. Five minutes behind Hushovd was Lars Bak (HTC-Highroad), who claimed fourth, leading the remainder of the day's escapees over the line.
Jerome Pineau (QuickStep) was fifth, Team Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen sixth, Vladimir Gusev (Katusha) seventh, Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) eighth and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) ninth.
After breaking out of the peloton on the descent of the Col d'Aubisque, Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) finished in 10th place to claim six points in his bid for the points classification leader's green jersey.
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) retained the race leader's yellow jersey after finishing in the main bunch, seven minutes 37 seconds behind Hushovd, as the top of the general classification remained unchanged.
After the day's first climb - the category three Cote de Cuqueron - and 57km of racing, a 10-man group, including Hushovd were allowed to go clear, with Voeckler's Europcar team slowing the peloton's pursuit.
Also in the escape, which had an advantage of more than four minutes at the top of the day's second climb - the category four Cote de Belair - were Roy, Moncoutie, Boasson Hagen, Tjallingii, Dmitriy Fofonov (Astana), Pineau, Petacchi, Gusev and Bak.
The day's intermediate sprint took place in Bielle after 82.5km, with 70km remaining.
The escapees - including Petacchi, last year's winner of the points classification's green jersey - apparently were conserving themselves for the Col d'Aubisque after not contesting the sprint, with Boasson Hagen rolling over the line in first place for 20 points.
With 10 riders in the breakaway, the leading rider in the peloton would claim five points at best.
Maillot vert incumbent Mark Cavendish had to settle for 12th after Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar), his nearest challenger in the points race, claimed 11th, trimming the Briton's lead by one point to 17.
Out in front Hushovd made his move at the foot of the Col d'Aubisque, going clear alone.
However, he soon had Roy for company with the Frenchman eyeing the points to take him into the King of the Mountains' polka dot jersey.
Behind the duo their fellow escapees were strung out in a line, with Moncoutie and Boasson Hagen aiming to bridge the gap.
Roy - prominent in Thursday's break - and Moncoutie soon passed Hushovd in turn.
Roy then reached the cloud-covered summit with an advantage of 54 seconds over Moncoutie.
Hushovd followed two minutes behind, while the peloton, comprising the main favourites and Voeckler, were eight minutes adrift at the summit.
Roy crested the next Pyrenean peak, the Col du Soulor, well clear to begin the 33km descent into Lourdes.
Hushovd caught Moncoutie with 28km remaining and the duo worked together in a bid to catch Roy.
Hushovd did the majority of the work as the pair cut Roy's advantage, which stood at 20 seconds with 12km remaining and 15 seconds with 5km left.
With 3km to go Hushovd had Roy in his sights and left Moncoutie with a powerful burst.
The Norwegian caught Roy with 2.2km to go and accelerated forward, and the leader for much of the day was soon also passed by his compatriot, his bid for glory derailed for a second straight day.
Hushovd negotiated the final 2km untroubled to soar to victory.
Gilbert trimmed his deficit to Cavendish in the maillot vert race by finishing 10th, while Rojas finished 12th on the stage to move within 13 points of the Briton.
Cavendish has 264 points, Rojas 251 and Gilbert 240.
Leading final positions after Stage 13 (Pau - Lourdes, 156km): 1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo 3hrs 47mins 36secs, 2 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne at 0.10, 3 Jeremy Roy (Fra) FDJ at 0.26, 4 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) HTC-Highroad at 5mins 00secs, 5 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Quickstep Cycling Team at 5.02, 6 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling at 5.03, 7 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team at 5.08, 8 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD at 5.16, 9 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team at same time, 10 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 6.48, 11 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team at 6.51, 12 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team at 7.37, 13 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne at same time, 14 Grega Bole (Slo)Lampre - ISD at same time, 15 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at same time, 16 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Leopard Trek at same time, 17 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar at same time, 18 Gianni Meersman (Bel) FDJ at same time, 19 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at same time, 20 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar at same time
Selected Others: 96 David Millar (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo at 8mins 03secs, 119 Ben Swift (Gbr) Sky Procycling at 18.32, 123 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Sky Procycling at same time, 129 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Highroad at 22.08
General classification after Stage 13: 1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 55hrs 49mins 57secs, 2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at 1.49, 3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team at 2.06, 4 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at 2.17, 5 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at 3.16, 6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD at 3.22, 7 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard at 4.00, 8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi at 4.11, 9 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 4.35, 10 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo at same time, 11 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale at 4.57, 12 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team at 5.07, 13 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ at 5.50, 14 Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad at 6.03, 15 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack at 7.17, 16 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne at 7.27, 17 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack at 7.51, 18 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling at 7.55, 19 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale at 8.20, 20 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha Team at 8.44
Selected Others: 39 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Sky Procycling at 21mins 16secs, 59 David Millar (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo at 38.13, 130 Ben Swift (Gbr) Sky Procycling at 1hr 30mins 53secs, 131 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Highroad at 1:32.28

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Contador struggles in Pyrenees

Defending champion Alberto Contador insisted he was satisfied with the opening mountain stage of the Tour de France despite losing more time for overall glory in Paris.

The three-time champion began Thursday's 211-kilometre 12th stage across the Pyrenees from Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden four minutes seven seconds behind race leader Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) - the Frenchman who successfully defended the maillot jaune on Bastille Day - and now sits four minutes behind.
Crucially, though, Contador is 2mins 11secs, 1:54 and 1:43 adrift of second-placed Frank Schleck, third-placed Evans and fourth-placed Andy Schleck, respectively.
The Schleck brothers (Leopard Trek) and Evans (BMC Racing) are likely to be Contador's main rivals for glory come July 24.
Contador, who won the Giro d'Italia in May, lost more than a minute on the opening stage on July 2 and has been caught up in numerous crashes since, while he has also been complaining of a sore knee.
He said: "It was finally a good day for me because my knee hurt since the Tourmalet and I was feeling very rough.
"I couldn't do anything more, Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck have improved their chances now and Evans and Ivan Basso are stronger.
"I have to race intelligently. I hope the knee gets a little bit better and I'm feeling a bit tired after the Giro.
"It could have been worse and I have to see what happens. Overall, I'm pleased."
The Tourmalet was the decisive climb of the 2010 Tour, although the final result will be determined only after Contador appears before the Court of Arbitration for Sport next month.
Contador tested positive for clenbuterol on the second rest day of last year's Tour in Pau - where he and his Saxo Bank-SunGard team are staying on Thursday evening - and is the subject of a CAS hearing to determine his fate.
The 28-year-old Spaniard protests his innocence, attributing the adverse result to contaminated meat.
Contador appeared to be comfortable on Thursday climbing the 17.1km Pyrenean peak, the Tour's first hors categorie (beyond category) climb, marking his rivals.
It was a race within a race, but Contador saw his resistance broken in the final 500metres of the final climb, the 13.3km ascent to Luz-Ardiden.
After an Andy Schleck attack and two from Frank Schleck, a third from the older Schleck brother saw him break clear.
Frank Schleck closed in on leading duo Samuel Sanchez and Jelle Vanendert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), while behind him Evans, Basso (Liquigas) and Andy Schleck continued to push at a high tempo.
Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) claimed victory, finishing seven seconds ahead of Vanendert, with Frank Schleck three seconds further back.
Basso was fourth, Evans fifth and Andy Schleck sixth, all three 30 seconds behind Sanchez - but crucially 13 seconds ahead of Contador.
Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) was seventh, five seconds behind Basso's group, before Contador crossed the line in eighth, followed by Voeckler in ninth.
Frank Schleck said: "The plan was to make the whole race very hard beginning on the Tourmalet.
"We would see what happened with the general classification contenders and see what kind of selection we could make."
Andy Schleck added: "Frank was super strong. His attack was perfectly timed.
"We knew that if we attacked left, right, left, right, they would eventually have to let one of us get away.
"That was the plan, and it's exactly what happened."
Andy Schleck, the runner-up in each of the last two years, does not anticipate Contador's time loss will be have too great an impact, though.
He added: "The time Contador lost today [Thursday] won't make a difference in Paris.
"He is a great champion and he knows tomorrow [Friday] is another day.
"He could come back and have a super strong day to put time into his rivals."
Voeckler now leads overall from Frank Schleck by 1:49.
He said: "In the last ten kilometres I surprised myself. It's been hard but I'm very pleased."
Olympic champion Sanchez, too, was delighted.
The Spaniard, who finished fourth overall in 2010, said: "The only goal of the day was to win this stage.
"Now I have the polka-dot jersey, but that is just a bonus."
Sanchez now lies eighth overall, 4:11 behind Voeckler.
Stage 12 result (Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden, 209km): 1 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6hrs 01min 15secs, 2 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 0.07secs, 3 Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at 0.10, 4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at 0.30, 5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team at same time, 6 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at same time, 7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD at 0.35, 8 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard at 0.43, 9 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar at 0.50, 10 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar at same time, 11 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo at 1min 03secs, 12 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ at 1.19, 13 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Sky Procycling at 1.25, 14 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack at same time, 15 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale at 1.56, 16 YuriyTrofimov (Rus) Katusha Team at same time, 17 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale at 2.02, 18 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team at 2.10, 19 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team at same time, 20 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack at 2.53
Selected Others: 36 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Sky Procycling 6hrs 06min 35secs, 139 Ben Swift (Gbr) Sky Procycling at 33mins 05secs, 148 David Millar (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo at same time, 153 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Highroad at same time
General classification after stage 12: 1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 51hrs 54mins 44secs, 2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at 1min 49secs, 3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team at 2.06, 4 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at 2.17, 5 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at 3.16, 6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD at 3.22, 7 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard at 4.00, 8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi at 4.11, 9 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo at 4.35, 10 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale at 4.57, 11 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team at 5.07, 12 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 5.24, 13 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ at 5.50, 14 Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad at 6.03, 15 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Team RadioShack at 7.17, 16 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne at 7.27, 17 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack at 7.51, 18 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Sky Procycling at 7.55, 19 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale at 8.20, 20 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ at 8.47
Selected Others: 25 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Sky Procycling 52hrs 05mins 15secs, 60 David Millar (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo at 37mins 47secs, 118 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Highroad at 1hr 17mins 57secs, 124 Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling at 1.19.58

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Cavendish credits Greipel for stage win

Mark Cavendish was magnanimous in defeat as the Briton's arch-rival Andre Greipel secured his first Tour de France stage win.

Cavendish, who won stages five and seven last week to take his career tally to 17, was in a strong position in the finale of the 158-kilometre 10th stage from Aurillac to Carmaux, but Greipel (Omega Pharma-Lotto) won the race to the line, with Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) third.
The duo were team-mates and outspoken rivals until this season, with Greipel leaving HTC-Highroad to claim his chance in the Tour.
It was the first time Greipel - third in Chateauroux last Friday behind Cavendish - has won a head-to-head sprint between the pair.
Cavendish said: "I'm disappointed. I feel I made a mistake but Greipel beat me so there's nothing I can say about that. I'm happy for him."
The 26-year-old from the Isle of Man had to do much of the work himself and was without the support of key leadout men Bernhard Eisel, Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw, who were dropped in the closing stages.
He added: "I knew you couldn't see the finish until the last 150 metres to go.
"It was a flat finish so I tried to go at 250m off (Liquigas' Daniel) Oss' wheel. I went early - it wasn't too early on this type of finish.
"I didn't hesitate but I didn't commit early enough. I kind of rolled round Oss on the last corner and kicked with 170m to go and Greipel just came past and beat me."
Cavendish is likely to have a further opportunity for his 18th Tour victory - and to reclaim the bragging rights from Greipel - in tomorrow's 167.5km 11th stage from Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur.
For four years, until Greipel signed with Omega Pharma-Lotto for the 2011 season, Cavendish and the German were team-mates.
However, the 2008 Giro d'Italia - Cavendish's first Grand Tour - was the last time the duo rode in the same race after a series of squabbles on and off the bike.
Even though the duo's race schedules were separate, the bickering continued and Greipel opted to leave the team.
The German, who will be 29 on Saturday and is riding in his first Tour, said: "Of course he wasn't always friendly but this is not my style - I just try to show on the bike what I am able to do.
"Today [Tuesday] it was lucky that I had some power left. I was waiting for this moment to win a stage in the biggest race in the world.
"He has won 17 stages and now I have won one."
Despite the loss in the finishing straight, Cavendish's hopes of taking the points classification's green jersey improved on Tuesday.
After the six-man breakaway swept the first points available at the intermediate sprint, Cavendish claimed nine points after leading the peloton over the line.
His second place was accompanied by 35 points - Greipel claimed 45 for the win - allowing Cavendish to trim his deficit to maillot vert incumbent Philippe Gilbert to 29 points.
Gilbert leads on 226 points, with Rojas second on 209 and Cavendish third on 197.
Stage one winner Gilbert, who won nine points on Tuesday, is Greipel's Omega Pharma-Lotto team-mate, but appeared to launch a late bid for victory on the day's final climb, the category four Cote de Mirandol-Bourgnounac.
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar), wearing the race leader's yellow jersey, went with the Belgian, along with three other riders.
Voeckler led the group over the summit, 15km from the finish, but the peloton were within striking distance and pulled the attack - and subsequent counter-attacks - back before Greipel triumphed.
Voeckler retained the maillot jaune and a lead of one minute 49 seconds from Luis-Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) as the position of the overall contenders remained unchanged, with 81 riders allocated the same time as Greipel.
Bar a minor crash after 11km, it was a day relatively free of incident for a Tour which saw 20 riders withdraw prior to the 10th stage of racing.
While most were as a result of injury, Katusha's Alexandr Kolobnev quit the race after his positive test for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.
Team Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha and Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) were remarkably able to ride - bandaged and nursing cuts and bruises - two days after being knocked down by a media car on stage nine.
Flecha finished 5mins 33secs behind, while Hoogerland was 5:59 down but retained the polka dot King of the Mountains jersey.
Hoogerland, who was thrown into barbed wire on Sunday, said: "The only time that I really thought about stopping the Tour de France was during the two seconds that I was flying through the air.
"I think that surviving the stage today [Tuesday] was largely mental strength - I felt better on the bike than I felt in bed or walking."

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