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UK’s Cavendish takes Tour fifth stage

Agritubel team rider Nicolas Vogondy of France, right, Francaise des Jeux team rider Lilian Jegou of France, second right, and Cofidis team rider Florent Brard of France cycle in a breakaway past a spectator with a bicycle during the fifth stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Cholet and Chateauroux, France, on Wednesday. PHOTO: EPA

Mark Cavendish of Britain won a sprint to take the fifth — and longest — stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, and German rider Stefan Schumacher held on to the overall leader’s yellow jersey.

Cavendish beat Oscar Freire of Spain and veteran German sprinter Erik Zabel on the line at the end of the 232km flat stage from Cholet to Chateauroux. He completed the stage — the longest of the Tour — in 5 hours, 27 minutes, 52 seconds.

Three Frenchmen — Lilian Jegou, Nicolas Vogondy and Florent Brard — hit the front after 11km and at one point had a lead of more than 8 minutes. However, the field never seemed concerned, and the riders worked together to catch the breakaway almost on the finish line.

“It’s the biggest thing that’s happened to me,” the 23-year-old Cavendish said. “To win a stage of the Tour is a massive thing. I came here with the intention of winning one. It just means so, so much to me.”

Cavendish said he had been forced to begin his sprint earlier than he wanted but had managed to hold on because “when you have a team like I have, it’s impossible not to be the best.”

A man tends to Heinrich Haussler of Germany after he crashed in the fifth stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Cholet and Chateauroux, France, on Wednesday. PHOTO: AP

Cavendish had been disappointed that Monday’s third stage was won by a breakaway, giving no opportunity for the sprinters to fight out the victory.

Cavendish, who comes from the Isle of Man, was selected by British Cycling on Tuesday to ride the madison on the track at the Beijing Olympics along with Bradley Wiggins. The pair won the world championships in the event in March. He is not slated to compete in the road races, however.

Caisse d’Epargne team rider Alejandro Valverde of Spain is handed water by a team mate as he is assisted by a medic after a crash during the fifth stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Cholet and Chateuroux, France, on Wednesday. PHOTO: EPA

Schumacher held on to his 12-second overall lead from Kim Kirchen of Luxembourg and David Millar of Britain.

“It was great to enjoy this stage in the yellow jersey,” Schumacher said. “Yesterday, it was a great mix of feelings given that the start of the season was not good for me. Yesterday, I could have cried but I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone. Today, I was much more relaxed.”

All the riders who are expected to contest the overall victory finished safely in the pack, although Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde hit debris in the road about 80km into the stage and went over his handlebars. He injured his right arm, right knee and calf, but got back on his bike and continued riding.

The injuries are not expected to threaten Valverde’s continued participation, said Eusebio Unzue, director of his Caisse d’Epargne team.

French cyclist Aurelien Passeron hit a female spectator about 5km from the end of the race. Passeron got back on his bike and continued, but finished almost 5 minutes behind the field.

Race organizers said the spectator, Marie-Antoinette Bidault, a local resident, was helped to her feet quickly by those next to her.

Medical staff were soon on the scene and gave her an X-ray, which revealed an injury to her right wrist but no break.

Colombian rider Juan Mauricio Soler, who has ridden with injured wrists since crashing in Saturday’s first stage, pulled out of the race early into the stage. He was the King of the Mountains champion as the Tour’s best climber last year.

His Barloworld team said a scan had confirmed a fracture in the right hand of Soler, who felt so much pain when he held his handlebars that he was in danger of crashing.

“In agreement with Mauricio, we decided to wait two days after the crash to see if things improved, but we’ve had to accept that it is impossible for Soler to carry on in the Tour de France,” team manager Claudio Corti said.

Yesterday’s sixth stage would see the riders enter the mountains for the first time, in a 195.5km trek through the medium peaks of the Massif Central from Aigurande to Super-Besse.
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