LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) – Mark Cavendish underlined his status as the world’s best sprinter and man to beat at next year’s Olympic Games by winning the 2012 road race test event through London’s streets on Sunday.

The tight and technical route was narrow in places, causing bottlenecks for the competitors and support vehicles trailing behind as the 145-man field set a blistering pace.

Briton Cavendish, top sprinter at last month’s Tour de France, won the 140.3-km event starting and finishing near Buckingham Palace in a time of three hours 18 minutes 11 seconds.

Sacha Modolo of Italy was second and France’s Samuel Dumoulin was third.

Cavendish stuck with the peloton, at one stage six minutes behind an early breakaway led by 2009 British road race champion Kristian House, before staging a customary late charge in a bunch sprint down the Mall.

Manxman Cavendish, whose name has been linked to Britain’s Team Sky after his successful HTC-Highroad announced they will fold at the end of the season, was kitted out in a blue outfit with the name of British cycling sponsors Sky emblazoned on it.

Australian Heinrich Haussler, a former Tour de France stage winner, led the peloton back to the breakaway riders as the race re-entered the UK capital’s people-lined streets after sections in the leafy western suburbs.

LONDON (Reuters) – For all the glitz, glamour and money in a modern footballer’s life former Arsenal and England defender Lee Dixon would still rather play in the 1980s and 90s.

“Football’s become more business and money-orientated than it was when we were playing and I think we had more fun,” the 47-year-old told Reuters at his restaurant outside London ahead of the new Premier League season which starts on Saturday.

“Players today might disagree but I think if they’re honest we had the best of everything,” said Dixon, a vital cog in the robust Arsenal defence that helped win four top flight titles between 1989-2002 plus three FA Cups from 1993-2002.

Dixon ended his career on a high as part of Arsenal’s double-winning 2002 side having racked up 619 appearances for the north London club and believes he could not have timed his playing days any better.

“We had a bit more freedom being out in the public than they do now. We were a bit closer to the fans than they are now. I think I had the best time to play.

“I also got a little bit of the upside of the wages, they went up in my last few years under (Arsenal manager) Arsene (Wenger).”

Dixon was never hard up but has said before he struggled with the mortgage on his 175,000 pound ($283,860) house having moved towards the capital when Arsenal signed him for 350,000 pounds ($567,721) in 1988.

LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) – For all the glitz, glamour and money in a modern footballer’s life former Arsenal and England defender Lee Dixon would still rather play in the 1980s and 90s.

“Football’s become more business and money-orientated than it was when we were playing and I think we had more fun,” the 47-year-old told Reuters at his restaurant outside London ahead of the new Premier League season which starts on Saturday.

“Players today might disagree but I think if they’re honest we had the best of everything,” said Dixon, a vital cog in the robust Arsenal defence that helped win four top flight titles between 1989-2002 plus three FA Cups from 1993-2002.

Dixon ended his career on a high as part of Arsenal’s double-winning 2002 side having racked up 619 appearances for the north London club and believes he could not have timed his playing days any better.

“We had a bit more freedom being out in the public than they do now. We were a bit closer to the fans than they are now. I think I had the best time to play.

“I also got a little bit of the upside of the wages, they went up in my last few years under (Arsenal manager) Arsene (Wenger).”

Dixon was never hard up but has said before he struggled with the mortgage on his 175,000 pound ($283,860) house having moved towards the capital when Arsenal signed him for 350,000 pounds ($567,721) in 1988.

LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) – For all the glitz, glamour and money in a modern footballer’s life former Arsenal and England defender Lee Dixon would still rather play in the 1980s and 90s.

“Football’s become more business and money-orientated than it was when we were playing and I think we had more fun,” the 47-year-old told Reuters at his restaurant outside London ahead of the new Premier League season which starts on Saturday.

“Players today might disagree but I think if they’re honest we had the best of everything,” said Dixon, a vital cog in the robust Arsenal defence that helped win four top flight titles between 1989-2002 plus three FA Cups from 1993-2002.

Dixon ended his career on a high as part of Arsenal’s double-winning 2002 side having racked up 619 appearances for the north London club and believes he could not have timed his playing days any better.

“We had a bit more freedom being out in the public than they do now. We were a bit closer to the fans than they are now. I think I had the best time to play.

“I also got a little bit of the upside of the wages, they went up in my last few years under (Arsenal manager) Arsene (Wenger).”

Dixon was never hard up but has said before he struggled with the mortgage on his 175,000 pound ($283,860) house having moved towards the capital when Arsenal signed him for 350,000 pounds ($567,721) in 1988.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Mark Cavendish, the Tour de France’s most successful sprinter, will head a provisional field for the 2012 Olympics road race test event on August 14 starting and finishing near Buckingham Palace, organisers said Friday.

Cavendish, fresh from winning the green jersey for the most points during last month’s Tour, did not compete in the same event in Beijing in 2008. He has racked up 20 Tour de France stage wins since his first in 2007.

He will have fellow sprinters Tyler Farrar of the United States and Tom Boonen of Belgium to contend with as well as HTC-Highroad team mate Matthew Goss, the first Australian winner of the 102-year-old Milan-San Remo Classic in March.

French road race champion Sylvain Chavanel and compatriot Romain Feillu, Italy’s Eros Capecchi and RadioShack team leader Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia are among the others riders listed in the 148-man field.

Cavendish will start as one of the favourites to win the first gold medal of the London Games on July 28 next year, and his participation in the test event will be valuable preparation as the 26-year-old seeks his first Olympic medal.

At the 2008 Games Cavendish finished eighth in the madison alongside the 2009 fourth-placed Tour de France rider Bradley Wiggins, the pair having won the 2008 world championships in the same event.

Cavendish’s American team HTC-Highroad announced Thursday they will fold at the end of the season and the rider has been linked in the media with British team Sky.

LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Britain’s Mark Cavendish, the Tour de France’s most successful sprinter, will head a provisional field for the 2012 Olympics road race test event on Aug. 14 starting and finishing near Buckingham Palace, organisers said on Friday.

Cavendish, fresh from winning the green jersey for the most points during last month’s Tour, did not compete in the same event in Beijing in 2008. He has racked up 20 Tour de France stage wins since his first in 2007.

He will have fellow sprinters Tyler Farrar of the United States and Tom Boonen of Belgium to contend with as well as HTC-Highroad team mate Matthew Goss, the first Australian winner of the 102-year-old Milan-San Remo Classic in March.

French road race champion Sylvain Chavanel and compatriot Romain Feillu, Italy’s Eros Capecchi and RadioShack team leader Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia are among the others riders listed in the 148-man field.

Cavendish will start as one of the favourites to win the first gold medal of the London Games on July 28 next year, and his participation in the test event will be valuable preparation as the 26-year-old seeks his first Olympic medal.

At the 2008 Games Cavendish finished eighth in the madison alongside the 2009 fourth-placed Tour de France rider Bradley Wiggins, the pair having won the 2008 world championships in the same event.

Cavendish’s American team HTC-Highroad announced on Thursday they will fold at the end of the season and the rider has been linked in the media with British team Sky.

LONDON (Reuters) – Lee Westwood’s putting at the British Open last week was “shocking” and the world number two must sort it out to end his major drought, according to his coach Pete Cowen.

The man who guided Darren Clarke to victory in the Open on Sunday has worked with the Northern Irishman and his good friend Westwood for many years.

“Someone like Lee can have a slightly better than average putting week and probably still win. His putting was shocking last week. He was second in greens in regulation I think and missed the cut,” Cowen told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Westwood’s putting has long been his Achilles heel but he would have taken heart from watching the 42-year-old Clarke win the year’s third major, becoming the oldest British Open champion since 1967 and oldest major winner since 1995.

“You just need a little bit of luck here and there, and a good putting week. We’re going to sort that out this week. We’ll have it sorted by the U.S. PGA Championship that’s for sure,” added Cowen who has also coached 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

The U.S. PGA starts in Atlanta on August 11, the last chance of the year for the 38-year-old Westwood to lose the tag of being one of the best players never to have won a major.

“People put so much emphasis on majors, but you can’t try and peak for majors,” Cowen said. “You’re either playing well or you aren’t. So you need to be a good player all the time, being competitive week in week out.”

LONDON (Reuters) – Lee Westwood’s putting at the British Open last week was “shocking” and the world number two must sort it out to end his major drought, according to his coach Pete Cowen.

The man who guided Darren Clarke to victory in the Open on Sunday has worked with the Northern Irishman and his good friend Westwood for many years.

“Someone like Lee can have a slightly better than average putting week and probably still win. His putting was shocking last week. He was second in greens in regulation I think and missed the cut,” Cowen told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Westwood’s putting has long been his Achilles heel but he would have taken heart from watching the 42-year-old Clarke win the year’s third major, becoming the oldest British Open champion since 1967 and oldest major winner since 1995.

“You just need a little bit of luck here and there, and a good putting week. We’re going to sort that out this week. We’ll have it sorted by the U.S. PGA Championship that’s for sure,” added Cowen who has also coached 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

The U.S. PGA starts in Atlanta on August 11, the last chance of the year for the 38-year-old Westwood to lose the tag of being one of the best players never to have won a major.

“People put so much emphasis on majors, but you can’t try and peak for majors,” Cowen said. “You’re either playing well or you aren’t. So you need to be a good player all the time, being competitive week in week out.”

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – Lee Westwood’s putting at the British Open last week was “shocking” and the world number two must sort it out to end his major drought, according to his coach Pete Cowen.

The man who guided Darren Clarke to victory in the Open on Sunday has worked with the Northern Irishman and his good friend Westwood for many years.

“Someone like Lee can have a slightly better than average putting week and probably still win. His putting was shocking last week. He was second in greens in regulation I think and missed the cut,” Cowen told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Westwood’s putting has long been his Achilles heel but he would have taken heart from watching the 42-year-old Clarke win the year’s third major, becoming the oldest British Open champion since 1967 and oldest major winner since 1995.

“You just need a little bit of luck here and there, and a good putting week. We’re going to sort that out this week. We’ll have it sorted by the U.S. PGA Championship that’s for sure,” added Cowen who has also coached 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

The U.S. PGA starts in Atlanta on Aug. 11, the last chance of the year for the 38-year-old Westwood to lose the tag of being one of the best players never to have won a major.

“People put so much emphasis on majors, but you can’t try and peak for majors,” Cowen said. “You’re either playing well or you aren’t. So you need to be a good player all the time, being competitive week in week out.”