That was the American team, Columbia HTC, whose sprinter, Englishman Mark Cavendish, won six stages.
The world's top sprinter, Mark Cavendish of HTC, will ride a Venge in this year's Tour de France.
FORBES: Hippie Capitalist: Specialized Bicycle's Mike Sinyard
Much fancied home favorite Mark Cavendish finished a disappointing 29th as the British team struggled to meet pre-race expectations.
Italian Marco Pinotti won the 2008 Tour of Ireland with Isle of Man sprinter Mark Cavendish claiming three successive stages.
The HTC-Highroad rider, a team-mate of Mark Cavendish, proved too strong for the 2008 winner Fabian Cancellara and Philippe Gilbert.
Meanwhile, Britain's other great cycling star, Mark Cavendish , claimed his fourth win of this year's Giro after Friday's 254km leg from Busseto to Cherasco.
Armitstead's performance was a welcome boost for home fans after the bitter disappointment of Mark Cavendish's failure to win the men's road race Saturday.
Stapleton has high hopes that his star rider Mark Cavendish of Britain will be in the race leader's pink jersey after the first three stages.
There was a surprising lack of stick-on sideburns, but the huge support for Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish as the Tour of Britain began in Suffolk surprised no-one.
BBC: Tour of Britain: Ipswich welcomes Wiggins and Cavendish
Westwood came fourth in the public vote, with diver Tom Daley sixth ahead of cyclist Mark Cavendish, winter Olympian Amy Williams, cricketer Graeme Swann and boxer David Haye.
On Saturday Wiggins and his British teammates failed to escort sprinter Mark Cavendish to the line for a presumed gold medal, and it was treated like a civic letdown.
WSJ: 2012 London Olympics: Bradley Wiggins: The Reluctant King of Cycling - Jason Gay
Monday's stage takes the riders from Vise to Tournai over 207.5km and is expected to favor sprinters such as Britain's Mark Cavendish, who has won 20 stages of the Tour de France.
Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man and Welsh rider Geraint Thomas both made waves in this year's Tour de France and will be looking to cap excellent seasons with the Commonwealth title.
The Tour of Britain last visited Drumlanrig Castle in 2008, when Edvald Boasson Hagen won, while Dumfries has hosted stage finishes in the past two editions of the race, both won by Mark Cavendish.
"I think Bradley will go to the Olympics with the aim of repaying Mark Cavendish for his work and sacrifice in the quest for the yellow jersey, " Robert Millar, who finished fourth and was named King of the Mountains in the 1984 Tour, told CNN.
CNN: Millar: Tour champ Wiggins will repay Cavendish in London
The sun came out, briefly and the chat amongst the crowd was that British athletes were doing an "amazing" job at the Games, but it was a disappointment to see Mark Cavendish beaten in the road race, Paula pull out of the marathon, Yamauchi pull up here.
Don't be surprised if the medals table on Monday morning bears a strong resemblance to the count at the end of the Games: According to the Wall Street Journal's projections, the U.S. is likely to be sitting at the top, with a spunky British team not far behind after cyclists Mark Cavendish and Nicole Cooke win gold in road races.
Professor Todd, who is organising a conference at Cambridge University's Lucy Cavendish College in June to mark the bicentenary of Pride and Prejudice, describes the novel as "much sunnier" than Austen's other works.
应用推荐