It was a stage that some doubted would be a sprinter's finish due to some some hills at the end that might prove too hard for the fastmen. As the the peloton steadily reeled in the break of the day though and passed over those hills without too many difficulties it was clear that it was going to be the first showdown between the biggest sprinters in Marseille however.
Cavendish's team took an early command of the approach to the finish with Tony Martin leading the peloton from 6-7 km out when the last remnants of the break were reeled in. What followed was a messy leadout for most everyone but Omega Pharma. They did their thing, ignoring the jittery riding around them with Lotto and others not quite being able to challenge them but instead trying to establish competing trains and moving from one side to the other. The Omega train had their timing down pat and Cav was delivered to start his sprint from in front of all his nearest rivals who never saw anything but the back of him as he powered the final hundred meters to clinch the win. Behind him Edvald Boasson Hagen and Peter Sagan both came with higher speed than Cav but they were never even close to catching him. With a better position at the start of the sprint Sagan looked like he could have challenged but you can't afford less than perfection when Cavendish gets the setup he did today.
The finish was marred by a massive crash in the peloton in the final hundred meters. We will update as word comes in who was down and hurt. The GC was however not affected and Simon Gerrans of Orica-GreenEdge finished in the front to maintain his lead and earn another day in the yellow jersey. The other leaders jerseys also remain the same.
Stageresult
1. | GBRCAVENDISH Mark | 151 | OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP | 05h 31' 51'' | |
2. | NORBOASSON HAGEN Edvald | 2 | SKY PROCYCLING | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
3. | SVKSAGAN Peter | 11 | CANNONDALE | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
4. | GERGREIPEL André | 24 | LOTTO-BELISOL | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
5. | ITAFERRARI Roberto | 145 | LAMPRE - MERIDA | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
6. | NORKRISTOFF Alexander | 103 | KATUSHA TEAM | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
7. | ESPLOBATO DEL VALLE Juan José | 115 | EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
8. | LTUNAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas | 177 | GARMIN - SHARP | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
9. | FRALEMOINE Cyril | 215 | SOJASUN | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
10. | ESPROJAS José Joaquin | 129 | MOVISTAR TEAM | 05h 31' 51'' | + 00' 00'' |
General Classification
1. | AUSGERRANS Simon | 181 | ORICA GREENEDGE | 18h 19' 15'' | |
2. | RSAIMPEY Daryl | 185 | ORICA GREENEDGE | 18h 19' 15'' | + 00' 00'' |
3. | SUIALBASINI Michael | 182 | ORICA GREENEDGE | 18h 19' 15'' | + 00' 00'' |
4. | POLKWIATKOWSKI Michal | 153 | OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP | 18h 19' 16'' | + 00' 01'' |
5. | FRACHAVANEL Sylvain | 152 | OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP | 18h 19' 16'' | + 00' 01'' |
6. | NORBOASSON HAGEN Edvald | 2 | SKY PROCYCLING | 18h 19' 18'' | + 00' 03'' |
7. | GBRFROOME Christopher | 1 | SKY PROCYCLING | 18h 19' 18'' | + 00' 03'' |
8. | AUSPORTE Richie | 6 | SKY PROCYCLING | 18h 19' 18'' | + 00' 03'' |
9. | IRLROCHE Nicolas | 97 | TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF | 18h 19' 24'' | + 00' 09'' |
10. | CZEKREUZIGER Roman | 94 | TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF | 18h 19' 24'' | + 00' 09'' |
Points competition
1. | SVKSAGAN Peter | 11 | CANNONDALE | 111 pts |
2. | GBRCAVENDISH Mark | 151 | OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP | 76 pts |
3. | NORKRISTOFF Alexander | 103 | KATUSHA TEAM | 76 pts |
Mountains competition
1. | FRAROLLAND Pierre | 51 | TEAM EUROPCAR | 10 pts |
2. | AUSCLARKE Simon | 183 | ORICA GREENEDGE | 5 pts |
3. | FRAKADRI Blel | 87 | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 5 pts |
Young rider competition
1. | POLKWIATKOWSKI Michal | 153 | OMEGA PHARMA-QUICK STEP | 18h 19' 16'' | |
2. | USATALANSKY Andrew | 178 | GARMIN - SHARP | 18h 19' 32'' | + 00' 16'' |
3. | COLQUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander | 128 | MOVISTAR TEAM | 18h 19' 35'' | + 00' 19'' |