CAVENDISH RIDES GIANT TO THIRD TOUR OF IRELAND STAGE WIN!!!

(August 28, 2008) Riding the Giant TCR Advanced SL, Team Columbia’s Marc Cavendish has claimed the first two stages of the Tour of Ireland.

The win is the Manxman’s fifteenth of the year, and after two stages he leads the Tour of the Emerald Isle by :13 seconds over Julian Dean of Garmin-Chipotle. He also is at the top of the Best Young Rider Classification and he has the lead in the Points Classification.

In both Stages 1 and 2, Cavendish rocketed from out of the pack in a full field sprint to claim victory.
Cavendish was eager to give the credit to his team in comments on cyclingnews.com: "The team rode all day again," he said. "Despite being on the front for so long, they still had the kick to lead it out full-gas from five kilometres to go. They were able to keep the pace fast and that is how strong my team is. I think that without them, my form is not good enough to do anything here. Basically, they keep me protected all day and then gave me such a perfect lead out at the end that I really had to finish it off with a win."
Cavendish and the rest of the men and women of Team Columbia ride the Giant TCR Advanced SL. On that bike, Team Columbia has more pro victories than any other team in the 2008 season.
For more details on Cavendish and the Tour of Ireland, go to:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/aug08/ireland08/?id=results/ireland082