Mark Cavendish is rewriting the record books during this year's Tour de France. On Thursday he became the first British cyclist to ever win three stages in one Tour.
Riding behind a lead-out by his US-based Team Columbia as the peloton entered Narbonne, Cavendish accelerated from the front of the pack and easily won.
The overall battle of the yellow jersey remained unchanged, as Cadel Evans maintained his 1-second lead and his rivals all finished in the same time in the peloton. (The only change in the top 10 is the absence of two Saunier Duval riders after the team withdrew.)
The 23-year-old sprinter from the Isle of Man, which sits off England's coast, previously won stages 5 and 8. His victory also gives Team Columbia its third victory of the Tour, in addition to have a rider, Kim Kirchen, in the yellow jersey for four days.
Team Columbia — which last year rode at T-Mobile and earlier this year as Team High Road — gained control of the peloton with about 2 1/2 miles to go in Stage 12. Columbia's George Hincapie drove the train at the front, followed by his teammates.
When Hincapie ran out of gas, teams like Milram and Credit Agricole tried to take over, but the route was left open for Cavendish, who beat riders like Sebastian Chavanel, Gert Steegmans, Erik Zabel and Oscar Freire.
Former UK cyclist Barry Hoban won two stages of the Tour de France in 1969 and 1973.
The 105-mile Stage 12 from Lavelanet to Narbonne featured a breakaway group of three cyclists, Arnaud Gérard (Francaise des Jeux), Samuël Dumoulin (Cofidis) and Juan Jose Oroz (Euskaltel Euskadi). They were left to hang off the front until the final couple of miles.
The top 10 overall:
1 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence – Lotto
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 1 second behind
3 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30, :38
4 Bernhard Kohl (Aut) Gerolsteiner, :46
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, :57
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank, 1:28
7 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team Columbia, 1:56
8 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale, 2:32
9 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel – Euskadi, 3:51
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas, 4:18
US riders overall:
3. Christian Vande Velde, Team Garmin-Chipotle, 38 seconds behind
54. George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia, 39:51
116. Danny Pate (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle 1:34:16
138. William Frischkorn (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle 1:48:16
Recent Comments