British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Hunt has labelled the London-Surrey Cycle Classic ‘a missed opportunity’ after no one was willing to stump up the £200,000 required to broadcast Mark Cavendish’s victory on live television.

London 2012 organisers Locog claim more than 250,000 spectators lined the 87-mile – although both Box Hill, which the 145-rider peloton tackled twice, and the start/finish on The Mall were restricted to those with wristbands.

Cavendish, who launched a trademark sprint finish in front of Buckingham Palace to lay down a marker ahead of London 2012, called the support “incredible”.

And, in a week where rioting put London on the front pages across the world, Hunt believes the race should have been given a wider audience.

“Headlines around the world said ‘Ignited Kingdom’ but this event has shown the British public are absolutely behind the Games,” Hunt told Telegraph Sport. “It showcased the best this country has to offer and that we can deliver it safely. It was a missed opportunity not to broadcast it on television,” he said

Cavendish only confirmed he would race after his Tour de France triumph, where the Manx Missile became the first Brit to win the green jersey, by which time the BBC had already decided not to broadcast the event.

Not willing to reschedule their programming schedule or commit to the financial outlay, the race will instead be afforded a 15 minute highlights slot in a four-hour Olympic programme next Sunday, on BBC2 at 1:55pm.

But, if you can’t wait until then, we’ve trawled YouTube to put together the best bits from your videos.

Highlights

The race started at 9am and left central London through Chelsea where crowds were sparse and this video was shot.

Having reached the tight, twisting Surrey lanes, the peloton tackled Staple Lane – a short, sharp climb over the North Downs – before negotiating the steep descent.

A four-man break – Kristian House (Rapha Condor Sharp), Tom Murray (Sigma Sport Specialized), Liam Holohan (Raleigh) and Cleberson Weber (Brazil) – was allowed to escape early on in the race.

The quartet had gained a six minute, 35 second lead by the 50km mark but that advantage began to fall by the first lap of Box Hill.

British Cycling entered a Great Britain and England team in order to field as many riders as possible, both to protect Cavendish and with a view ahead to selection for September’s World Championships and next year’s Olympic Games.

Here you can see both teams riding at the front to protect the Manx Missile, wearing a green helmet and shades, on the first ascent of Box Hill.

The break’s lead had fallen to two minutes by the time the race left Box Hill, before Murray and Weber were dropped from the lead group, leaving former national champion House and Holohan to plough a lone path through Leatherhead as, with 50km to the line, the chase began.

House and Holohan soon fell victim to the bunch, leaving Norway’s Kurt Asle Arvesen, a former Tour de France stage winner, to launch a solo bid for glory through Parsons Green.

But the Team Sky rider, who will retire at the end of the season, was doomed to fail, with Roger Hammond and Russell Downing leading the chase before, with 170m to go, Cavendish leapt from the wheel of leadout man Jeremy Hunt.

And the 26-year-old made no mistake from there, dispatching of Italy’s Sacha Modolo and France’s Samuel Dumoulin, who took second and third respectively.