:00:24. > :00:27.Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News from the Olympic Park,
:00:27. > :00:30.where tens of thousands of fans have been turning up for the first
:00:30. > :00:34.full day of the Games. However, Britain's hopes of an early medal
:00:34. > :00:37.in the men's cycling road race were dashed a short time ago when Mark
:00:37. > :00:43.Cavendish failed to finish in the top three. Our sports correspondent,
:00:43. > :00:48.Dan Roan, is near the finishing line. Dan, what happened?
:00:48. > :00:52.Good afternoon. Mark Cavendish came into this race under unprecedented
:00:52. > :00:57.levels of expectation but the feeling was that if anyone could
:00:57. > :01:03.handle the pressure it was him. A British cyclist won the Tour De
:01:03. > :01:09.France last weekend but Olympic glory proved beyond them.
:01:09. > :01:14.These days Britain's cyclists need little pre-race introduction. Last
:01:14. > :01:19.weekend Bradley Wiggins was making history. Now as Team GB arrived in
:01:20. > :01:25.London, the focus would shift to a team-mate Mark Cavendish and the
:01:25. > :01:32.sprinter's bid to deliver a metal. The first morning of these Games is
:01:32. > :01:39.about to get under way. The road race is about to start. Can Mark
:01:39. > :01:44.Cavendish that the gold rush that the country's is craving.
:01:44. > :01:50.The fear was that this race would prove too hard and long to control
:01:50. > :01:56.for Team GB. Experienced riders were allowed to infiltrate a
:01:56. > :02:01.breakaway. The favourites then lost Chris Froome. Fabian Cancellara
:02:01. > :02:06.crashed out of contention, but Britain was left with too much to
:02:06. > :02:16.do, even Bradley Wiggins with nothing to give. Mark Cavendish was
:02:16. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:25.nowhere to be seen at. The instead, the crowd got Alexandre Vinokourov,
:02:25. > :02:30.one of cycling's convicted drug streets, winning.
:02:30. > :02:36.It was a massive anti-climax for the disappointed fans behind me as
:02:36. > :02:41.they go home. Some will question Team GB's tactics, but others will
:02:41. > :02:46.wonder if Mark Cavendish was too exhausted after the Tour De France.
:02:46. > :02:50.Today shows that even being hosts of the Olympics and being world
:02:50. > :02:54.champion Mike Mark Cavendish is, it is no guarantee of success in sport.
:02:54. > :02:57.Our other main story and in Syria the city of Aleppo has come under
:02:57. > :03:00.heavy bombardment in what rebels say is the start of an army assault
:03:00. > :03:03.to force them out. Many casualties have been reported and a steady
:03:03. > :03:11.stream of vehicles carrying families is leaving the city, as
:03:11. > :03:16.Mike Wooldridge reports. Video footage from the Web is said
:03:16. > :03:21.to be of running battles today on the streets. It is a rebel
:03:21. > :03:25.stronghold in the city of Aleppo. The footage cannot be independently
:03:25. > :03:31.verified by a journalist in the district says that fighting started
:03:31. > :03:36.at 4am and eight hours later it was still going. Syrian troops backed
:03:36. > :03:39.by helicopter gunships have been massing for the past two days.
:03:39. > :03:44.Rebels have reported that government forces were moving on
:03:44. > :03:49.districts of the city where rebels were concentrated. Fighter planes
:03:50. > :03:55.have been flying over at low altitude. The regime has left no
:03:55. > :04:01.one in doubt that it is determined to reassert its authority in Aleppo
:04:01. > :04:09.after efforts to do the same in Damascus. Russia, a long-time ally
:04:10. > :04:17.of Syria, called for understanding of Syria's position. I am DUP seek
:04:17. > :04:23.-- armed opposition groups are occupying cities. How can you
:04:23. > :04:28.expect the Syrian government to say, it go ahead, or overthrow me? This
:04:28. > :04:34.is unrealistic. Russia is accusing Western countries of helping the
:04:34. > :04:41.opposition fighters. It said today it would not allow searches of
:04:41. > :04:48.Russian ships, under a brand new EU regulations of presenting shipments
:04:48. > :04:50.to at Syria. -- preventing. A patient who was being treated for
:04:51. > :04:54.legionnaires' disease has died in hospital in Staffordshire. A total
:04:54. > :04:56.of 16 cases have been confirmed in the outbreak, which began in Stoke-
:04:56. > :05:01.on-Trent on Tuesday. One person remains critically ill.
:05:01. > :05:04.More now on the Olympics. The very first gold medal of 2012 was won
:05:04. > :05:09.this morning. China's Siling Yi took the top spot on the podium
:05:09. > :05:15.after victory in the women's ten metre shooting. The 23-year-old
:05:15. > :05:17.reached the final with a near- perfect score of 399 out of 400.
:05:17. > :05:20.Well, today's sporting action followed last night's spectacular
:05:20. > :05:27.opening ceremony which was watched by 27 million people in the UK
:05:27. > :05:31.alone, and many more worldwide. Among those with a starring role in
:05:31. > :05:34.the ceremony was the Queen, who this morning paid a visit to some
:05:34. > :05:42.of the Olympic venues. Clive Myrie reports.
:05:42. > :05:46.The speeches are over. Now it is time for the sport to begin. No
:05:46. > :05:51.heads of state here today, just ordinary people entering the
:05:51. > :05:57.Olympic Park for the first time. There is a positive back, everyone
:05:57. > :06:02.is speaking to each other, saying, where are you going? It is
:06:03. > :06:10.fantastic. We have been here for a month. It is a once-in-a-lifetime
:06:10. > :06:15.experience. Last night's jaw- dropping opening ceremony was
:06:15. > :06:20.watched by 26.9 million people in the UK. An estimated 1 billion
:06:20. > :06:26.people around the world. Danny Boyle's vision of Britannia really
:06:26. > :06:32.did rule the airwaves. There was humour as well. The evening, Mr
:06:32. > :06:37.Bond. As space in which Daniel Craig playing James Bond met the
:06:37. > :06:41.Queen at Buckingham Palace. Later as he apparently parachuted with
:06:41. > :06:45.Her Majesty into the Olympic Stadium. It is a moment of
:06:45. > :06:52.invention that few will forget, Alyssa that the second the most
:06:52. > :06:56.unlikely of Bond girls. Commie jingoistic and chauvinistic, but I
:06:56. > :07:02.think we knock the spots off Beijing last night. Today the Queen
:07:02. > :07:08.came back to the Olympic park and topped by the athletes' village.
:07:08. > :07:13.She was standing outside our accommodation. We do not normally
:07:13. > :07:17.get that sort of attention so it has been a fantastic experience.
:07:17. > :07:21.The relaxed atmosphere among the crowd here is in stark contrast to
:07:21. > :07:26.the pressure that the athletes are experience in in the sporting
:07:26. > :07:33.venues. Out here it is one big garden party and that is what the