STOCKTON'S Chris Newton secured a top-ten finish as he got his Tour of Britain off to a flying start yesterday.

The 33-year-old finished ninth in the 2.5km prologue around Crystal Palace as British team-mate Mark Cavendish claimed the yellow jersey - the first British rider to secure that honour since the race started in 2004.

But track specialist Newton - who has won two Olympic medals in the team pursuit - admitted he had himself to blame for not finishing even higher.

"I would have settled for the top ten before the prologue but I know I could have gone even faster," he said.

"I really got a feel for the course during the warm-up and that was a big help.

"I tried a few different things and was really confident when I started but I wasn't as aggressive as I could have been.

"We had a great crowd backing us and it's a fantastic start for the race that Mark will wear yellow for the first stage."

If you close your eyes and squint a little then Crystal Palace's transmitter station does look just a little like the Eiffel Tower.

But there was still a Gallic flavour to the peleton as the race started its 600-mile, week-long journey to Glasgow.

Recent Tour de France stage winners Linus Gerdemann and Robbie Hunter rolled off the start ramp while four Pro Tour teams are in attendance.

But it was Britain's Cavendish who headed a general classification packed with track pursuit specialists and four home riders.

Cavendish has certainly enjoyed a season to remember since joining Pro Tour giants T-Mobile.

In January he set himself a seemingly improbable goal of ten stage wins - yesterday's victory was his eighth.

"I thought I might be able to do something," admitted Cavendish.

"But coming from a track background, it's not a complete shock to win a 2.5km prologue.

"However, I'm awfully proud to wear the yellow jersey in my home Tour. At the start of the season I set myself a target of ten wins and I'm two off that now, so the pressure is still on.

"It bodes well for Beijing to see that many British riders up in the top ten. Having the crowd behind me makes me go 100 percent better and I'm sure it's the same for the others."

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