TOURNAI, Belgium -- In Tour de France sprints, Mark Cavendish is in a class of his own. The British speed specialist showed what he can do Monday without any assistance from his Sky teammates, flying past German rival Andre Greipel in the last few meters to lead a tight sprint and win Stage 2 in Belgium. It was the 21st Tour stage victory for a man with ambitions of winning gold at the London Olympics. A rising sports star at home, he has been consigned to a backseat role because his new team is focusing on Bradley Wiggins hopes of becoming the first Briton to win the Tour. Cavendish has been all but left to fend for himself in the sprints. "It was always going to be difficult to win stages -- if anything it made me kind of more relaxed," Cavendish said. "In the past, Ive always had a dedicated team to sprint with ... so there was always that pressure to win." The top standings didnt change after bunched finish in the 207.5-kilometre course from Vise to Tournai -- the races last day in Belgium before heading to France. Wiggins, a three-time Olympic champion, is second -- seven seconds behind leader Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, who retained the yellow jersey for a third day after seizing it in Saturdays opening prologue. Defending champion Cadel Evans is eighth, 17 seconds behind Cancellara. The Australian has been overshadowed this season by Wiggins winning three multi-stage races. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal finished 49th in the stage and remained 10th overall, 18 seconds behind Cancellara. In past years, Cavendish was the star of his teams and enjoyed the support of one or several lead-out riders to help him conserve energy for a burst of speed at the finish line. Not anymore. In public, at least, Cavendish seems to be adjusting to the team-player role. "I always said I wanted to make history," said the 27-year-old native of the Isle of Man. "That means winning a lot of sprints, but theres not many better ways to make history than be part of a team that wins the Tour de France with a British rider." Cavendishs main support rider with Sky has been Bernard Eisel of Austria, with Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway -- a rising star who last year won two Tour stages -- in a backup role. Cavendish is not a likely contender for the Tour title because he struggles in the mountains and fares less well than complete riders like Evans and Wiggins in the time trials, which have taken on a greater importance in this years 99th edition of cyclings showcase race. On Monday, Cavendish just wanted to be opportunistic: "I was a bit like, give it a shot, see what happens, and if you dont win, you dont win -- weve got bigger things to try for here." It paid off. With several hundred meters to go and Greipel trailing his lead-out man -- New Zealands Gregory Henderson -- Cavendish stayed close to the Germans back wheel. As Henderson peeled away to let Greipel go it alone, Cavendish whizzed by on the left and nosed ahead with five meters to go as the German bobbed frenetically in a failed effort to stave off the Britons surge. "Normally I win by some bike lengths. Today I had to lunge at the line, so you see that it wasnt too easy," Cavendish said. Cavendish is renowned for his short fuse, and he rebuffed a reporter who suggested that Sky appeared to have two goals - success for him in the quest for the green jersey awarded to the best sprinter, and Wiggins hopes for the yellow. "There are not two objectives. Theres one objective," Cavendish said gruffly. He also sought to dispel speculation that he might be already looking ahead to the London Olympics, at which he will be one of the favourites to win gold in the road race. "It (the Tour) is the most beautiful race of the year for me," he said. "Here, its the Tour de France ... I cant say the Olympics are more important." The riders only climbing challenge Monday was a winding, low-grade ascent up the citadel of Namur -- a medieval town that is the capital of the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium and hosts an annual beer festival in the spring. The flat layout helped riders keep pace with each other in a tight pack against the wind, setting the stage for a sprint finish. Three breakaway riders, including Anthony Roux of France with an injured left wrist which hung limply by his handlebars, led for most of the day. The pack swallowed up Roux, the last to hold out, with 14 kilometres left. Nursing injuries from crashes in Sundays stage, Tony Martin of Germany -- the reigning world time-trial champion -- and Luis Leon Sanchez of Spain straggled across the finish line, 4:22 back of the main pack. On Tuesday, the three-week race returns home for more mostly flat stages before the Alps in the following week and Pyrenees in the week after that. The race finishes July 22 on Paris Champs-Elysees. Next up though is a 197-kilometre trek from Orchies to the English Channel fishing town of Boulogne-sur-Mer. Cr... Gamboa Jersey . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz. Celso Borges Jersey . Fognini won only three points on his opponents serve in the first set, but broke twice in the second set and three times in the third. He faces French wild card Gael Monfils, who came from behind to beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. ... . They didnt have to wait long. 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