Mark Cavendish wins final stage of Tour of California

Cavendish emerged from the pack to beat Tinkoff's reigning world champion Peter Sagan and Alexander Kristoff of Katusha to the line in a sprint finish.

Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) finished safely in the pack to secure the general classification win.

Cavendish was short of Dimension Data team-mates in the final stages of the 138km stage around the state capital after a tough day's racing, but he latched on to Sagan's wheel and timed his sprint to perfection.

"We had to use our whole lead-out to catch the break, so in the end it was a bit a case of free styling," Cavendish said on his team's website. "I was on Sagan's wheel and know this finish really well. I've won here before and knew that, if was in the right position I should win here."

1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data

2. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team

3. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha

4. Danny van Poppel (Ned) Team Sky

5. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin

6. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

7. Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team

8. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Etixx - Quick-Step

9. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo

10. Travis McCabe (USA) Holowesko-Citadel Racing Team

1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx - Quick-Step 31:47:50

2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team +0:00:21

3. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team +0:00:43

4. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling +0:00:52

5. Lawson Craddock (USA) Cannondale Pro Cycling +0:01:22

6. Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing Team "

7. George Bennett (NZl) Team LottoNl-Jumbo +0:01:50

8. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Team Katusha +0:01:53

9. Neilson Powless (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman +0:01:57

10. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin +0:02:13