THE winning feeling returned for Mark Cavendish on the fifth stage of the Tour de France after a fraught and forgettable period on and off the bike.

The 25-year-old HTC-Columbia sprinter recorded his 11th Tour win in three seasons on the 187.5-kilometres stage from Epernay to Montargis, having failed to deliver in Sunday’s first stage – when he crashed – and in Wednesday’s fourth stage, as he struggled to accelerate with the finish line at his mercy.

But Cavendish returned to his customary pose – arms aloft and chest puffed out in a victory salute – as he finished ahead of his former leadout man Gerald Ciolek (Team Milram) and Team Sky’s Edvald Boasson Hagen, who finished third for the second successive day.

‘‘We haven’t had the best of luck in the first few days,’’ said Cavendish, who finished 12th on stage four in Reims.

‘‘Yesterday we did finally have good luck and I couldn’t finish off what the team did.

‘‘The team did an incredible job yesterday and I let them down.

‘‘It would have been easy for them to give up, but they rode out of their skins today and delivered me to the line again.

‘‘I just had to cross it first this time.’’ Points classification leader Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) was fifth to take 22 points and retain the green jersey – Cavendish’s stated aim before the Tour.

The Briton lies on 50 points, 52 behind Hushovd, who won the maillot vert in Paris in 2009 by 10 points from Cavendish, despite the latter’s six victories.

This was Cavendish’s 11th Tour stage win after four in 2008 and six in 2009, including on the Champs Elysees as he finished the race for the first time.

Even with at least four sprint stages remaining, the green jersey already appears beyond Cavendish, barring an untimely mishap for Hushovd and a remarkable run of victories for the Manx Missile.