Briton Mark Cavendish (T-Mobile) outgunned German sprint legend Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) to take his second stage win in the Four Days of Dunkirk on Sunday.
Cavendish brace of victories, combined with a third place on stage two, have earned the T-Mobile pro. the points jersey in the prestigious French race. Dunkirk was won overall by Fdjeux.com rider Mathieu Ladagnous.
Just as on stage three, Cavendish stage 6 win at Dunkirk was a clear victory for the young Manx sprinter. Cavendish took the sprint a good bike length ahead of Zabel and CSC?s Matthew Goss.
?It went more than well.? Cavendish told CW?s website. ?For the first time this season I had the whole team working for me. Tonight the beers are definitely on me, I really have to thank them for what they did.?
?There was a break early on with Bradley [Wiggins - Cofidis] in it and we pulled it back with Francaise des Jeux.?
?That split the bunch and then there must have been about 80 riders for the final sprint. There was a joint collaboration with Milram and T-Mobile to keep things together.?
?I got a massive lead out first from [team-mates] Eric Baumann and then from Bernard Eisel who went from about 1200 metres and then I kicked out at 250 metres to go.?
?I was sure I was going to get the win, because there wasn?t anybody on either side of me. The funny thing is I wasn?t feeling as good earlier on as I had done in stage three [where he also won], I had cramps early on. But I came through all right.?
In his first fully fledged year as a professional, Cavendish has already racked up three wins - a remarkable total and one which augurs well for the future.
?I?m really pleased with how it went in general, but now it?s back to business. I?ve got a week training in Italy and then I?m off to the Tour of Catalonia.? - which starts on Sunday 20th with a team time trial in the coastal resort of Salou.
FOUR DAYS OF DUNKIRK: STAGE SIX RESULTS
1 CAVENDISH Mark (T-Mobile) 173km in 3-52-33
2 ZABEL Erik (Milram)
3 GOSS Matthew Harley (CSC)
4 SIEDLER Sebastian (Milram)
5 DEKKERS Hans (Ag2r)
6 RENSHAW Mark (Credit Agricole)
7 FERRARI Roberto (Tenax Salmilano)
8 DRUJON Mathieu (Auber)
9 DELPECH Jean-Luc (Bretagne-Armor Lux)
10 COOKE Baden (Unibet) all same time
FOUR DAYS OF DUNKIRK: FINAL CLASSIFICATION
1 LADAGNOUS Mathieu (FDJeux) in 22-13-25
2 LEFEVRE Laurent (Bouygues Telecom) at 13secs
3 CORNU Dominique (Predictor-Lotto) at 14secs
4 COOKE Baden (Unibvet.com) at 21secs
5 ROOIJAKKERS Piet (Skil-Shimano) at 24secs
6 BAK Lars Ytting (CSC) at 26secs
7 TJALLINGII Maarten (Skil-Shimano) at 31secs
8 ROSSELER Sébastien (Quick Step) at 1-31
9 HUGUET Yann (Cofidis) at 2-23
10 TRONET Steven (Roubaix Lille Metropole) at 02-59
British:
15 HAMMOND Roger (T-Mobile) at 8-54
28 WIGGINS Bradley (Cofidis) at 19-28
45 CAVENDISH Mark (T-Mobile) at 45-28
109 HAYNES Hamish (DFL) at 59-44
Has cycling's most affordable pro bike brand just launched its aero machine?
Even if you ride a lot, here's why you shouldn't skip leg day at the gym
