By Tom Degun in London

August 3 - Mark Cavendish has been handed the opportunity to win Britain's first gold medal of the London 2012 Olympics on a cycling road race course that will feature some of the capital's most iconic landmarks in between a trip out to Surrey, as first revealed on insidethegames in May.



The 240 kilometres (150 mile) men's road race will start at The Mall and head past Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, before going through Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham, out to Surrey with a couple of loops around Box Hill before returning into the city via the King's Road.

The course could favour Cavendish, winner of a record 15 stages of the Tour de France, including five in this year's race, and give Britain the perfect start to the Games as the race is due to be held on July 28 - the day after the Opening Ceremony.

The event will also be an opportunity to showcase the capital city for an international television audience of billions.

The women's road race, a shorter version at 130km (80 miles), will be held the next day.

The event will also be an opportunity to showcase the capital city to an international televisio audience of billions.

The Mall was the finish of the prologue when the Tour de France started in London in 2007 when Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara beat Britain's Bradley Wiggins.

The original route was due start and finish in Regent's Park, on a circuit taking in Highgate West Hill, around Hampstead Heath and back down through Kentish Town and Primrose Hill, with the men's race due to complete 14 laps.

But the UCI wanted the course to rival the one used for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing which started in Tiananmen Square and finished on the Great Wall of China, one of the eight wonders of the world.

The new route will include only 1,500 metres of vertical ascent which will favour a sprinter like Cavendish.

Debbie Jevans, the London 2012 Director of Sport, is excited by an event that is free to spectators.

She said: "The road race will be a great opportunity for the world to see some of London’s most iconic landmarks."

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