Top British athlete Mark Cavendish today won the London-Surrey Cycle Classic today, the biggest test event yet to be staged by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG).

Cavendish was victorious over the 140km route, beating out tough competition from Sacha Modolo (ITA) and Samuel Dumoulin (FRA), who finished second and third respectively. British athlete, Kristian House was crowned king of the mountains.

Cavendish, winner of the green jersey at the Tour de France, said: 'It was incredible, there was a big crowd and it was very technical. It’s really great. It has a special finish down The Mall and was really well organised. It’s good for the city and good for cycling.'

More than 150 world class athletes made up an impressive start list of riders eager to carry out tests of their own on the Olympic course, with aspirations to return in 2012.

The race, which started on The Mall in St James’s, passed through six London boroughs, four Royal Parks and out into Surrey before returning to central London and back to The Mall for an incredible finish. Two challenging laps of Box Hill in the Surrey countryside were completed by the world class field.