Cavendish claims green jersey in 11th stage Tour de France win

Added by Erik West on July 13, 2011

Mark Cavendish won his 18th Tour de France stage win on Wednesday by beating Andre Greipel and Tyler Farrar in the tour’s 11th stage.

Cavendish now stands at seventh on the all-time list of Tour de France stage winners. This is his third win of the 2011 Tour which added 45 points and a 16 point lead plus the green jersey, awarded to the contender leading in points. Cavendish now has a total of 251 points.

Despite the day’s wet conditions, and a mechanical problem earlier in the race, the win was straightforward. In the last 1,000 meters team-mate Mark Renshaw lead Cavendish the line where Cavendish won by two bike-lengths.

In another development, John Gadret withdrew and did not start the 11th stage citing fatigue likely related to his earlier fourth place finish in May’s Giro d’Italia race. Gadret is the 21st racer to withdraw from this year’s Tour.

The leaders in the various standings are as follows:

• Overall: Thomas Voekler of France at 45h 52min 39 sec
• Points: Mark Cavendish with 251 points
• King of the Mountains: Johnny Hoogerland of Netherlands with 22 points
• Team: Europcar of France with 136h 55min 55sec
• Youth: Robert Gesink of Netherlands 45h 56min 40 sec