2010 Tour de France stage five results.

Manx missile is back in action!!

Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) sprints to his first stage win at the 2010 Tour de France

The riders at HTC-Columbia often say that each victory they take belongs to the team and no better was this demonstrated than on Thursday's stage to Montargis. After the disappointment of Wednesday's sprint into Reims, Mark Cavendish took advantage of the perfect work done by his teammates to open his stage win account in this year's Tour.

The Manxman's celebrations said it all as he crossed the line after four and a half hours of racing: arms raised high, full of relief, sweet celebration and redemption. More than usual, Cavendish savoured the embraces of HTC-Columbia staff and Erik Zabel, the six-time green jersey winner and his close advisor. And Cav hugged them all before walking back to the finish with a proud swagger that said: 'I'm back'.

Despite the best efforts of rival teams to derail the HTC-Columbia train in the final kilometres in the Montargis suburbs, the likes of Thor Hushovd, Alessandro Petacchi, Tyler Farrar, Gerald Ciolek and Robbie McEwen couldn't get the better of Renshaw and Cavendish when it counted.

Renshaw elbowed Thor Hushovd out of the way and then dragged Cavendish clear as the finish line loomed. Cavendish did not hesitate as the sprint began and surged clear. This time, he had the power and speed to win. Germany's Gerald Ciolek (Milram) jumped at the same time as Cavendish but was beaten for speed and finished second. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) came from behind Cavendish to take third.

Tears on the podium, reminiscent of his win at last year's Milan-San Remo, were a sure sign of Cavendish hitting the release valve on a pressure cooker that had been building up inside him and HTC-Columbia for months. During the Tour's opening week, a number of factors - crashes, cobbles and circumstances, had conspired against the 24-year-old. But suddenly, all that was forgotten with a convincing return to victory.

"It means everything to win," Cavendish said. "It's incredibly emotional. All the pressure and emotion built up but it's finally over."

"It was hard this year. I always said everything was about the Tour de France. Thing didn't go our way yesterday. I let them down massively and it would have been easy for them to say 'He hasn't got it' like other people did. But they rode for me. Siutsou rode covered in bandages and Rogers was there at the finish and took it on too. Renshaw did an incredible job, fighting with Thor [Hushovd], with Tyler [Farrar] and with Oscar [Freire]. I knew he'd drop me off at the right place."

Thanks to his fifth place, Thor Hushovd maintained his lead in the points classification, while Fabian Cancellara will enjoy another day in the maillot jaune as Jerôme Pineau carries on in the polka dot jersey when the race heads to Gueugnon tomorrow. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) kept the best young rider's white jersey, giving Britain an historic day, with two riders on the podium.

Cavendish is also back in the hunt for the points classification crown, lighting up the battle for the maillot vert when others had written him off. Hushovd is still in green with a total of 102 points but Cavendish has 50 points. And it's always a mistake to write off men of his calibre, as Hushovd knows.

"He's one of the best sprinters in the world. I'm happy with today's stage. I was able to get some more points in the hunt for the maillot vert," Hushovd said. "I was in good position for the final sprint. I used a lot of energy to get on the wheel of Renshaw, and Cavendish was able to win. It's always better to win the stage. I am not racing just for points, I want to win the stages too."

Play it again, Sam

Another sunny day, another favourable parcour, meant the conditions were ripe for another bunch sprint. But this time HTC-Columbia was hoping that Cavendish would finish the job done by Konstantin Siutsou, Maxime Monfort, Tony Martin, Bert Grabsch, Michael Rogers, Bernhard Eisel and Mark Renshaw, who all played such an important role in getting him to the final 200 metres the day before.

But before the finish could be contested - another break was allowed to steal the early glory. The escape group was again let go nice and early. Caisse d'Epargne's José Ivan Gutierrez kicked off proceedings, attacking hard and taking off after six kilometres. With Jurgen van de Walle (Quick Step) and Julian El Fares (Cofidis) in tow, the Spaniard set about accumulating a significant gap which became a minute after seven kilometres of riding off the front.

With 28km of the stage passed, the break gained its maximum advantage of 7:55 as the peloton continued to lick its wounds after that bruising stage three encounter with the cobbles of northern France. However the next 20km saw that gap hover around six minutes until it began to fall with just over 100km left to race. The sprinters were not going to let the break gain too much time.

The likes of Grabsch, Siutsou and Monfort were again pivotal in whittling the break's advantage; when it was down to a manageable 2:27 with 65km remaining, Lampre-Farnese Vini decided to get involved, with Slovenian rider Grega Bole again proving his worth to the Italian team's cause, towing the bunch in pursuit of the leading trio.

As the time board showed the peloton was 1:47 from the break with 40km to go, Cervélo TestTeam also began to get involved in the task of pulling back the Belgian-Franco-Iberian alliance that had worked well to maintain its position off the front of the bunch.

But like yesterday's romp into Reims, it all became mathematical in the finale as the break was again caught late in the stage; with 10km remaining it was time for Tony Martin to kick things back into action for HTC-Columbia, the erstwhile leader of the best young rider classification dragging the main bunch to within sight of the escape group.

Time's up, José

With six kilometres remaining, Gutierrez decided it was time to split from his breakaway companions, who were caught shortly after, while the Spaniard continued to hold out against the inevitable. Whilst a spirited effort, the Spanish national road race champion's attempt to stay away ended two kilometres later as the peloton had four clicks to go before the expected bunch kick. The question on everyone's lips was: Could Cav make a comeback to the winners' circle or would he fail again and the pressure grow even more?

Gutierrez's demise was the cue for Lampre-Farnese Vini and Garmin-Slipstream to come to the front, Martijn Maaskant going head to head with Danilo Hondo for position in the midst of the HTC-Columbia train in an attempt to steal its momentum, the result being Bernhard Eisel's isolation at the head of affairs.

David Millar, Robbie Hunter and Julian Dean then organised themselves brilliantly for Farrar. Behind them sat Hushovd, Renshaw and Cavendish, with all eyes on the latter two. Waiting in the wings for any mistakes and for a gap to dive through, was yesterday's winner Petacchi, plus Gerald Ciolek and Edvald Boasson Hagen.

Unlike yesterday however, when Mark Renshaw swung off with 200 metres to go Cavendish kicked... and kicked hard. The HTC-Columbia sprinter was back to his best, finding victory vindication during a week that has tested the character of the rider who had so dominated the sprints during last year's Tour de France.

The question now becomes: will he have enough of that same character and speed to continue winning and eventually take the green jersey at race's end in Paris? Stay tuned for that intriguing plotline of what has already been a fascinating Tour de France after just six days of racing.
Full Results
# Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC - Columbia 4:30:50
2 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram
3 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team
4 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
6 Sébastien Turgot (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
7 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha
8 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
9 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
10 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
11 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
12 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
13 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre-Farnese Vini
14 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale
15 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
16 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Sky Professional Cycling Team
17 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana
18 Christopher Horner (USA) Team Radioshack
19 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
20 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
21 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia
22 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
23 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
24 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
25 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team
26 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
27 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
28 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step
29 Inaki Isasi Flores (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
30 Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack
31 Benjamin Noval Gonzalez (Spa) Astana
32 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank
33 Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions
34 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto
35 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Team Radioshack
36 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team Radioshack
37 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank
38 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Team Radioshack
39 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Quick Step
40 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Sky Professional Cycling Team
41 Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank
42 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team Radioshack
43 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne
44 Luis León Sánchez Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
45 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
46 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Garmin - Transitions
47 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas-Doimo
48 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram
49 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
50 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia
51 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
52 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram
53 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
54 Thomas Löfkvist (Swe) Sky Professional Cycling Team
55 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
56 Michael Barry (Can) Sky Professional Cycling Team
57 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Française des Jeux
58 Julien El Farès (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
59 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Milram
60 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
61 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale
62 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
63 Tony Martin (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia
64 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
65 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana
66 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Team Saxo Bank
67 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha
68 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank
69 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
70 Grégory Rast (Swi) Team Radioshack
71 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank
72 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank
73 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram
74 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux
75 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux
76 Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank
77 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
78 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
79 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Cervelo Test Team
80 Jérémy Roy (Fra) Française des Jeux
81 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Rabobank
82 Mauro Da Dalto (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
83 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha
84 Christophe Moreau (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
85 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
86 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team
87 Roger Kluge (Ger) Team Milram
88 Alexandr Pliuschin (Mda) Team Katusha
89 Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Team Katusha
90 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions
91 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions
92 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram
93 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Team HTC - Columbia
94 Sébastien Minard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
95 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo Test Team
96 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Team Radioshack
97 Iban Velasco Murillo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
98 Arkaitz Duran Daroca (Spa) Footon-Servetto
99 Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Française des Jeux
100 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step
101 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team
102 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha
103 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
104 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
105 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
106 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank
107 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
108 Rémy Di Grégorio (Fra) Française des Jeux
109 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
110 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha
111 Fabio Felline (Ita) Footon-Servetto
112 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
113 Kristjan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Doimo
114 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
115 Rui Alberto Faria da Costa (Por) Caisse d'Epargne
116 Mario Aerts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
117 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
118 Imanol Erviti Ollo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
119 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia
120 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
121 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Française des Jeux
122 Jose Alberto Benitez Roman (Spa) Footon-Servetto
123 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Footon-Servetto
124 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Team Katusha
125 Christophe Kern (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
126 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa) Footon-Servetto
127 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
128 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana
129 Alexander Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas-Doimo
130 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team
131 Benoït Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux
132 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
133 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
134 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
135 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha
136 Karsten Kroon (Ned) BMC Racing Team
137 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) BMC Racing Team
138 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team
139 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team
140 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
141 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
142 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
143 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions
144 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
145 Iban Mayoz Echeverria (Spa) Footon-Servetto
146 Steven Cummings (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
147 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step
148 Kevin Seeldrayers (Bel) Quick Step
149 Dimitri Champion (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:34
150 Maarten Wijnants (Bel) Quick Step 0:00:35
151 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo
152 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:49
153 Lars Boom (Ned) Rabobank 0:01:16
154 Juan Jose Oroz Ugalde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:01:18
155 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:01:41
156 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Garmin - Transitions 0:01:44
157 Jeremy Hunt (GBr) Cervelo Test Team 0:01:51
158 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Cervelo Test Team
159 Chris Anker Sørensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:27
160 Brian Vandborg (Den) Liquigas-Doimo
161 Grega Bole (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini
162 Francis De Greef (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
163 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre-Farnese Vini
164 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne
165 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
166 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Omega Pharma-Lotto
167 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto
168 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
169 Markus Eibegger (Aut) Footon-Servetto
170 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Footon-Servetto
171 Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step
172 Alan Perez Lezaun (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
173 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Transitions
174 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 0:03:31
175 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team Saxo Bank
176 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
177 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
178 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia
179 Andreas Klier (Ger) Cervelo Test Team
180 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step
181 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank
182 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team
183 Anthony Roux (Fra) Française des Jeux 0:04:19
184 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana 0:05:23
185 David De La Fuente Rasilla (Spa) Astana
186 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Team Radioshack
187 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Astana 0:06:06
188 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Astana