Mark Cavendish credited Slovakian teammate Peter Velits for his third victory in the Tour of Spain on Thursday after the Briton won the 18th stage from Valladolid.
Wearing the green jersey of the points competition leader, Cavendish crossed the finish line in Salamanca a length ahead of Argentine Juan Jose Haedo and Portugal’s Manuel Cardoso.
Despite his clear victory, the HTC-Columbia rider said he had experienced a fraught moment with 3km to go, which only Velits’ quick response had resolved.
PHOTO: AFP
“There was a moment when I suddenly lost 50 or 60 places and I panicked,” Cavendish told reporters.
“I shouted across to Peter and he did a massive turn of about a kilometer or so, guiding me up the side of the bunch back to where I needed to be.”
“He’s fighting for the overall victory but he was still prepared to use up a lot of energy for me. That shows real commitment to the team and it takes a very special person to do that. I can’t thank him enough,” he said.
On a quiet day for the overall favorites, Italian Vincenzo Nibali remained in the lead ahead of Spain’s Ezequiel Mosquera, with Velits third.
Cavendish said the slightly uphill finish in the heart of Salamanca’s city center had been made tougher because he did not know which gear to use.
“I changed gear about five times in 500m because I was working out whether to do it all on power or on pure speed,” he said.
“I had to power after [Australian teammate] Matt Goss and finally with 180m to go, I went for it,” Cavendish said. “If I had the strength to get this win, it was all thanks to the work the team did.”
Cavendish said after the Tour of Spain and the world championships in Melbourne on Oct. 3, he would ride in the Commonwealth Games road race a week later in Delhi as his last race of the season.
“There will be a great group of guys riding for the Isle of Man and it’s not often I get to ride wearing that jersey. I’m looking forward to that,” he said.
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