Another day in California and another win for Isle of Man cyclist Mark Cavendish.

He won another sprint finish against Tom Boonen, but this time the margin was much clearer as Cav kept his celebrations under wraps until after he crossed the line. The victory puts him into the lead in the Points Race.

“The team did another great job for me today," said Cavendish. "they chased hard all day to bring the break back and finished it off with the perfect lead out."

"I sprinted extra hard today because I could see a shadow coming up behind me and I thought it was Tom Boonen coming up to me again. It turns out I was sprinting against my own shadow," he joked.

"I came to California with the goal to win today's stage. Saturday's stage could also potentially be a sprint but there is still a lot at stake for the General Classification so we'll see what happens."

Cav is up to 77th in the General Classification and tenth in the Young Rider standings.

The Manx Express is now the second most successful British rider of all-time with 32 wins at the start of only his third season. He is now just nine wins behind Chris Boardman who achieved his tally of 41 wins over seven years as a professional tour rider.