Result: MARK CAVENDISH DID what Mark Cavendish does best — manoeuvred into position and then held off his rivals in a bunch sprint to win today’s fifth stage into Marseille. It was Cavendish’s 24th Tour stage win, finishing a bike length in front of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Peter Sagan.
How it happened: The 228-kilometre stage from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille was dominated early on by a six-man breakaway, including Tour debutant Alexey Lutsenko, who opened up a lead of over 13 minutes inside the opening 40 kilometres.
Led by the Orica-GreenEdge team of yellow jersey wearer Simon Gerrans, the peloton closed the gap to six minutes but had to redouble their efforts with 50 kilometres to go when four — Lutsenko, Thomas de Gendt, Yukiya Arashiro and team-mate Kevin Reza — pushed out alone.
A crash on the Gineste delayed several stage contenders including Marcel Kittel and Matt Goss but with four kilometres to go Lutsenko, the final man in the break, was swallowed up to set up a sprint finale.
A second crash about 30 riders back splintered the pack in the dash to the line, stalling many challenges and leaving Omega-Pharma free to set up Cavendish for another stage win.
The big winner: Cavendish. The Manx Missile has reportedly suffered from a chest infection in recent days but once again he showed that, no matter which team colours he wears, he is the best around when it comes to a sprint finish.
The big loser: Andre Greipel. Cavendish’s rival looked to be in perfect position to steal a win as his Lotto team assembled during the final kilometre but — largely thanks to the lead out work of Gert Steegmans — it was Cav’s day and Greipel had to settle for a disappointing fourth.
Who is wearing what jersey?
- Yellow (Overall): Simon Gerrans
- Green (Points): Peter Sagan
- Polka-Dot (Mountains): Pierre Rolland
- White (Young Rider): Michal Kwiatkowski
What about the Irish? No change for either Nicolas Roche or Dan Martin in the GC standings. Roche (Saxo-Tinkoff) finished 25th in the bunch and remains in ninth place overall, nine seconds behind the yellow jersey. Martin (Garmin-Sharp) was towards the back of the bunch in 104th and stays 17th overall, 17 seconds back.
What happens tomorrow then? We’ve got a 176-kilometre flat stage from Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier. Cav again?
