All eyes were on British champion Mark Cavendish when the peloton attacked the final circuit of the Champs-Elysees as the 100th Tour de France drew to a close.

Looking for an unprecedented fifth straight victory on the famous avenue, the Manx Missile was favourite for glory.

But the Tour had already proved his sprinting rivals are more than a match for him on their day, and so as Omega Pharma-Quickstep hit the front, the result was by no means a formality.

Tour organisers ASO had prepared the evening criterium finale in the hope of extracting one last bit of excitement in the centennial edition of cycling’s greatest race.

And it panned out perfectly, as the three fastest men in world cycling – Cavendish, Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) lined up alongside each other.

Kittel attacked first, setting up a long sprint for the line after the bunch had set a phenomenal pace to position their sprint captains.

Greipel and Cavendish responded, but the Manxman hit a pothole and was unable to reach top speed and sensationally the young German, Kittel, held firm at the front to outsprint his more senior compatriot and snatch victory.