“Boom! Number4!” So Mark Cavendish celebrated his fourth stage win at the 2011 Tour de France on Twitter. At the Stage 15 sprint finish into Montpellier, the American team of HTC-Highroad drove hard all day, then launched their Manx Missile to yet another victory. After three days in the mountains, the sprinters delivered a hotly contested race, while the overall contenders plotted their strategies for the Alps.
Early in the day, the race passed the city of Carcassonne, which Cavendish called "one of the most stunning and historical places in France."
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| Carcassonne |
For over 100 kilometers, HTC set the tempo at the front of the peloton, as rival teams did not contribute until the end. In the last 3K, the white and yellow jerseys of Tony Martin, Matt Goss, and Mark Renshaw led Cavendish in the bright green jersey as leader of the points competition. Attacks by Philippe Gilbert of Omega Pharma-Lotto and others were meant to break up the rhythm of the HTC lead-out train, but HTC remained solid. Garmin-Cervelo organized for Tyler Farrar, Lampre for Alessandro Petacchi, and Team Sky for the youngster Ben Swift.
Less than 200 meters to the line, Renshaw launched Cavendish, who was immediately shadowed by Daniel Oss of Liquigas and Farrar. With all his wins, Cavendish is a marked man, and his competitors tried to ride in his slipstream before jumping ahead of him. Yet the Manxman was too fast for them. He crossed the line first, followed closely by Farrar and Petacchi.
The win was the 19th career stage victory for Cavendish, as well as the 50th Grand Tour stage victory for HTC-Highroad since its launch in 2007. Headquartered in San Luis Obispo, HTC is considered the most winning pro cycling team in the world with nearly 500 victories to date. Cavendish is honing in on the record of Andre Darrigade, the most winning sprinter ever at the Tour de France with 22 wins over 14 years.
Tomorrow is a rest day. While fans watch a recap of the race on Versus in primetime, the cyclists will be on the road to keep their muscles loose. Lead-out master Mark Renshaw is looking forward to a beer. Racing resumes on Tuesday, and Stage 16 features a steady uphill ride with a moderate climb and fast descent at the end. The overall contenders will try to stay safe and prepare for the decisive stages in the Alps on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
View Stage 15 sprint finish: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43785331#43785331
Stage 15 top finishers:
1. Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad)
2. Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo)
3. Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD)
4. Daniel Oss (Liquigas-Cannondale)
5. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar)
Complete Stage 15 results: http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1500/classement/index.html
Stage 16 map & profile:
http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1600/etape_par_etape.html
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