January 2012Save this storySaveSave this storySaveToday
the sixth stage of the Tour de France will take the world’s top cyclists from the small commune of Arpajon-sur-Cère southwest to the Midi-Pyrénées town of Montauban in a near-superhuman feat of strength and endurance
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France: Mark Cavendish took another giant step towards Tour de France greatness by claiming his 29th stage win yesterday in a dramatic sprint finish in sweltering heat
The 31-year-old Briton now only has Belgian legend Eddy Merckx ahead of him on the all-time list of stage victories with a once-seemingly unattainable mark of 34
But having won three stages out of six already in this Tour
Yesterday’s 190.5km sixth stage from Arpajon-sur-Cere to Montauban
Cavendish timed his burst for the line to perfection to streak past Marcel Kittel and then hold off a late surge by the German
“It was a fast finish so I knew it was well worth going early,” said Cavendish
“I knew I could get a sling-shot off Kittel.”
Briton Dan McLay took a surprise third place on the stage to show the future is bright in British sprinting whenever former world champion Cavendish decides to call time on his remarkable career
The Manx Missile had already beaten Kittel into second on Saturday’s opening stage to Utah Beach before also winning the third stage in Angers
Kittel got his own back on Tuesday’s fourth stage when Cavendish could finish only eighth but the Briton proved in Montauban he’s the fast man to beat at this Tour
It’s impossible to ride with a team here,” complained Kittel
who said Cavendish had produced a better sprint tactically
“It’s pure chaos and that’s why you can win here with really smart positioning.”
Cavendish took back the sprinters’ green points jersey from Slovakia’s Peter Sagan
It’s a jersey he should keep for several days as the Tour passes through the Pyrenees
where the overall contenders will finally start their battle
But Cavendish says he’s unlikely to hold it all the way to Paris as Sagan can pick up points in lumpy stages where pure sprinters can’t keep up
“He’s on a different level to everyone else
He can do what he wants,” admitted Cavendish
It’s nice to wear the green jersey but it will be with no-one in Paris but Peter.”
Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet kept hold of the race leader’s yellow jersey and maintains his 5min 11sec lead over Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe
But both will be hard pushed to maintain such lofty positions on Friday when the first major mountain
“Keeping the yellow jersey will be hard tomorrow but I will try - if you’re in yellow you have to fight for it in every second,” said the 31-year-old BMC rider
“The approach is easy but we’ll see how far I can go on a climb like this
Five minutes is a lot but when the climbers really go