Stage two of the Tour of Britain, from Kendal to Blackpool, has been cancelled due to high winds in north west England.

With the tail-end of Hurricane Katia bearing down on the British Isles, the Met Office issued a severe weather warning on Sunday, when Mark Cavendish won a rain-lashed first stage to take the race lead.

And, with gusts approaching 75 miles per hour, race organisers called an emergency meeting with the teams on Monday morning before deciding to cancel the 138km stage, although the peloton went on to ride a processional lap in Kendal.

“In my thirty years of organising cycling events I have never once had to cancel a stage before it even started, so this is not a decision that has been taken lightly,” said race director Mick Bennett.

“However today has presented as with a set of extreme circumstances.  The safety of competitors, officials, staff and of course spectators is of more importance than the spectacle of the event.  We cannot, and will not take the slightest risk when it comes to safety, hence today’s decision.

“Pockets of the route, including the start at Kendal were more sheltered but still experienced extremely blustery conditions.  In the main though there were large sections of the stage on exposed hillsides, including the three Skoda King of the Mountains locations, plus the final five kilometres of the stage along Blackpool Promenade, where conditions were deemed unsafe by ourselves as organisers, hence the regrettable decision to cancel the stage.

“I would like to thank the teams and riders for their assistance today, and apologise to the many spectators out on the route who have missed out on the opportunity to see the Tour of Britain, but we hope that they will understand the reasons behind our decision.”

Stage three, a 140km route to Stoke-on-Trent, is scheduled to go ahead as planned on Tuesday.

“Very strong winds are expected across today’s race route with gusts of up to 75mph along exposed areas on higher ground and along the coast,” said Met Office spokesman Dan Williams.

“It is also possible that waves could overtop sea defences along the west coast around the Blackpool area.  Although it will still be a windy day on Tuesday, we are not expecting the strength of those gusts to be as bad for the third stage tomorrow.”

Team Sky leader Geraint Thomas tweeted: “Disappointed but safety is the main issue guys. Got to respect the police decision. Not worth breaking ourselves.”