11:21am Monday 26th July 2010
MARK Cavendish again demonstrated he is unbeatable at his best with victory on the final stage of the 2010 Tour de France.
As Alberto Contador celebrated a third Tour title, Cavendish claimed a fifth win of the 97th Tour and a 15th in all.
However, the HTC-Columbia sprinter was denied the points classification’s green jersey as Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese) finished second yesterday to win by 11 points.
‘‘I’m disappointed not to win the green jersey,’’ said Cavendish.
‘‘I set it out as my target and I had some bad luck in the first days and went out of the running for the green jersey.
‘‘But we fought back. We did our best.
‘‘I’ve lost it by 11 points this year, but we’ve won five stages and we’re happy with this year’s Tour.’’ It was a moment of deja vu for Cavendish, who secured his sixth victory of the 2009 Tour on the same Paris boulevard.
Twelve months ago, the 25- year-old from the Isle of Man was denied the green jersey by ten points and he was green with envy again this year as Petacchi took the prize. The 36-year-old Italian finished on 243 points, with Cavendish on 232.
Cavendish was well positioned into the final bend yesterday and burst up the right side of the road, giving his rivals no chance as he won by four bike lengths.
Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team), who was seeking to defend his green jersey, finished seventh to finish third overall with 222 points.
Cavendish added: ‘‘Once I was on Petacchi’s wheel I knew I could win the stage then.
‘‘Every other sprint in the Tour you have to try to save as much energy as possible because every day’s so hard.
‘‘But on the Champs Elysees you’ve got nothing to save your energy for, you just go full blast to the line, and that’s what I did.’’ The green jersey was Cavendish’s stated aim before the Tour began, having reached Paris for the first time last year.
But while the Briton can reflect on his 15th Tour success and the 59th win of his fouryear- old professional career, he will also think of the missed opportunities in Brussels and Reims, which saw him play catch-up for much of the race.
‘‘I had some bad luck in the first week,’’ said Cavendish.
‘‘The team rode incredibly strong throughout and I was the weak link. It’s frustrating not to have the best outcome when they’ve all gone 100 per cent and I let them down.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/trade_directory/