Mark Cavendish narrowly avoided a late crash at the end of the opening stage of the Tour of Slovenia.

The Manx Missile, searching for only his second stage win of the year so far, looked well placed to challenge for victory in the sprint finish in the northeastern city of Murska Sobota after a mostly flat stage from Lendava.

But his Dimension Data team-mate and main leadout man Mark Renshaw was caught up in a heavy crash inside the final kilometre of the stage.

Cav avoided the crash and crossed the line 14th.

l Mark Christian is currently competing in the Tour de Suisse, which began on Saturday.

The Manxman helped his Aqua Blue Sport team finish 19th in the opening prologue team time trial around Frauenfeld in northern Switzerland.

Christian then played a key role in helping team-mate Edward Dunbar finish 31st in the second stage proper before spending most of Tuesday’s stage in the main breakaway, his hard work aiding Larry Warbasse to a 24th place finish.

Wednesday’s stage was a tough 155-kilometre affair from Gstaad to Leukerbad featuring several gruelling climbs.

The stage was won by Diego Ulissi, with Mark crossing the line in 66th place.

The Tour de Suisse continues until Sunday when it finishes in Bellinzona.

l Lizzie Holden finished inside the top 30 on the opening stage of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour on Wednesday afternoon.

The Trek Drops star is competing in the five-day race which started in the Suffolk town of Framlingham and continues until Sunday when it finishes in Colwyn Bay, Wales.

The opening stage culminated in a sprint finish which saw Belgium’s Jolien D’Hoore claiming victory, with Holden the third highest Briton in 26th place and second best Trek Drops rider.

Today (Thursday’s) stage sees the field tackle another predominantly flat affair from Rushden to Daventry.