Champ Cavendish set to miss out on Tour

MARK CAVENDISH won his second British National road race title, nine years after the first – but it may not be enough to earn him a Tour de France call-up.

The Manx missile’s brilliant finish in Castle Douglas piled the pressure on his QuickStep Alpha Vinyl bosses to include him in their eight-man squad for Le Tour, which gets under way on Friday.

But they are likely to go with Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen and deny Cavendish, 37, the chance to go clear of Belgian legend Eddy Merckx’s 34 Tour stage wins.

Cav said: “I’ve trained as if I’m going on the Tour.” CRICKET: Michael Leask blasted 162 from 112 balls to help Forfarshire to 375-7 as they sent holders Heriot’s (316) crashing out of the Scottish Cup.

In the Western Premier, Ferguslie blew the title race wide open by beating leaders Prestwick.

Dumfries and Ayr moved on to the fringes of the title race with wins at Kelburne and Stirling. TRIATHLON: Beth Potter toasted her first-ever podium finish at a Triathlon World Series after coming third in Calgary.

The 30-year-old from Glasgow, now second in the series rankings, said: “I’ve been knocking on the door this season so just to execute today is a dream come true.”