Mark Cavendish spoils Bastille Day party to take third Tour stage win
Mark Cavendish spoiled the Bastille Day celebrations for the French today, storming in to Issoudun with an imperious sprinting performance to complete his hat-trick of stage wins in this year’s Tour de France.
Tour de France 2009, stage 10 photo gallery by Graham Watson>>
Quite clearly the finest sprinter in the Tour peloton, Cavendish had time to take off his green sunglasses as he crossed the line in Issoudun a good two bike lengths ahead of Cervelo Test Team's Thor Hushovd. In doing so he declared his intention to recapture the Tour's green jersey.
Cavendish’s HTC-Columbia lead-out train was once again faultless, delivering the Manxman to the line with pin-point precision.
Despite attempts from Garmin and Quick Step to infiltrate the train, Cavendish left Mark Renshaw’s wheel early leaving Hushovd and Tyler Farrar gasping in his wake.
Although Cavendish comfortably had the better of Hushovd in the uphill drag to the line, he could only drag back five points meaning that he will now have to scrap for the immediate sprints if he is to peg back the Norwegian in the points competition.
“I’ve got another two, maybe even four stages I’ve got lined up that I’d like to win including on the Champs Elysées,” said Cavendish after his win in Issoudun, just 20km from the site of his first ever Tour win in Châteauroux in 2008.
“It was a little bit tricky,” said Hushovd after the stage. “I braked a bit because of the crash and lost the wheel from Cavendish and missed the victory. The next two days we get a hard final and I know that I can beat him, I did it already”.
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Radio gaga
The other main story of the day, to add to Cavendish’s prodigious sprinting performance, was the prohibition of race radios for today’s stage.
Despite the premonition that this would enliven the racing, freeing the riders from the shackles of their domineering team managers, it had in fact the opposite effect.
Rumours circulated that the peloton was exerting an unofficial go-slow in protest against the measure and it certainly seemed that way, as the main field appeared to be soft-pedalling and allowing the break to dangle at one and a half minutes.
A group of four riders escaped early on the day, comprised of three French riders and a Russian: Benoit Vaugrenard (Francaise des Jeux), Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis), Thierry Hupond (Skil Shimano) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), attempting to snatch a coveted French win on le quatorze Juillet.
This being Bastille Day, Ignatiev was under the impression that this entitled him, a Russian, to contribute nothing to the predominantly French break.
The group gained no more than four minutes on the peloton, which despite rumours of a protest, was apparently anxious of allowing the break any more time without the benefit of race radios to tell them exactly what the four riders were up to.
Gradually the gap tumbled and the peloton successfully timed the capture, thanks to the time checks on the chalkboards, but if anything, the absence of radios made the bunch that bit more wary of allowing the break too much freedom.
It wasn’t just the French who missed out today, Levi Leipheimer and Bradley Wiggins were caught on the wrong side of a split in the final kilometres and slipped to fifth and seventh respectively.
RESULTS
2009 Tour de France, Stage ten: Limoges-Issoudun, 194km
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia)
2. Thor Hushovd (Cervélo)
3. Tyler Farrar (Garmin)
4. Leonardo Duque (Cofidis)
5. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Caisse d’Epargne)
6. Lloyd Mondory (Ag2R)
7. Kenny van Hummel (Skil Shimano)
8. William Bonnet (Bouygues Telecom)
9. Daniele Bennati (Liquigas)
10. Saïd Haddou (Bouygues Telecom)
Overall classification after stage ten
1. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) 39-11-04
2. Alberto Contador (Astana) at 0-06
3. Lance Armstrong (Astana) at 0-08
4. Andreas Kloden (Astana) at 0-54
5. Levi Leipheimer (Astana) at 0-54
6. Tony Martin (Columbia) at 1-00
7. Bradley Wiggins (Garmin) at 1-01
8. Christian Vande Velde (Garmin) at 1-24
9. Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) at 1-49
10. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) at 1-54
Points classification
Thor Hushovd (Cervélo) 147 pts
Mark Cavendish (Columbia) 141 pts
King of the Mountains
Egoi Martinez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Young riders’ classification
Tony Martin (Columbia)
That's not what is meant by a lead-out train. The escape group were stopped in their tracks and weren't chuffed
The bunch took it easy today, time enough for a chat about pylons
Mark Cavendish takes his third stage of the 2009 Tour, Hushovd looks away in disbelief
Race leader Rinaldo Nocentini chats to 2008 Tour winner Carlos Satsre (left)
TOUR DE FRANCE 2009 LINKS
Tour de France 2009 - the hub: Index to reports, photos, previews and more.
STAGE REPORTS
Stage nine: Third French win as contenders content with ceasefirestage eight: Sanchez wins from break as Tour favourites cancel each other out
Stage seven: Feillu wins at Arcalis, Nocentini takes yellow, Contador leap-frogs Lance
Stage six: Millar's brave bid denied on Barcelona hill as Hushovd triumphs
Stage five: Voeckler survives chase to win his first Tour stage
Stage four: Astana on top but Armstrong misses yellow by hundredths of a second
Live Tour de France stage four TTT coverage
Stage three: Cavendish wins second stage as Armstrong distances Contador
Stage two: Cavendish takes first sprint
Stage one: Cancellara wins opening time trial
LATEST TOUR NEWS
Tour de France 2009 News Index>>
Contador brushes aside talk of Armstrong conflict
Cavendish odds-on favourite for Bastille Day victory
The Tour de France Comment: Monday, July 13
How the favourites are doing (first rest day)
Wiggins stays with leaders at Tour
Armstrong: 'If Contador wins, I'll be second'
Wiggins 'on cloud nine' at Tour de France
Armstrong says Contador attack wasn't in the planCavendish survives the first Tour mountain stage with ease
Wiggins, the Tour de France overall contender, has arrived
EXCLUSIVE VIDEOS
Garmin-Slipstream's HQ before the Tour
David Zabriskie's time trial bike
Mark Cavendish on the Tour's team time trial
David Brailsford interview
Mark Cavendish on the Tour
Jonathan Vaughters on Bradley Wiggins' chances
TOUR DE FRANCE 2009 PHOTOS
Stage nine photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage eight photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage seven photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage six photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage five photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage four TTT photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage three photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage two photo gallery by Graham Watson
Stage one photo gallery by Andy Jones
Stage one photo gallery by Graham Watson
Team presentation by Andy Jones
Team presentation by Graham Watson
TOUR GUIDE
Tour de France 2009 - the hub
Tour de France 2009: Who's riding
Tour de France 2009: Team guide
About the Tour de France
FEATURES
Tour de France 2009: Who will win?
Tour de France 2009 on TV: Eurosport and ITV4 schedules
Big names missing from 2009 Tour de France
Tour de France anti-doping measures explained
Brits in the Tours: From Robinson to Cavendish
Cycling Weekly's rider profiles
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