Cavendish keeps green jersey with 3rd

British rider Mark Cavendish came home third yesterday behind home favourite Thomas Voeckler in the fifth stage of the Tour de France, keeping hold of the green jersey for leading points scorer.

Cavendish was at the forefront of the peloton which gradually reeled in the early breakaway led by Voeckler over the 196.5km stage between Le Cap d'Agde and Perpignan. But Voeckler managed to hold on for a seven-second victory and second place went to Mikhail Ignatiev of the Katusha team.

Fabian Cancellara and Lance Armstrong remain separated by hundredths of a second in first and second. Today's leg between Girona and Barcelona in Spain could be another opportunity for Cavendish to record a stage victory.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Richard Williams, the Guardian: "Nothing much changed as a result of the day's events, except perhaps the mood of France's cycling public. The bunch crossed the line seven seconds behind Voeckler, the survivor of a long six-man break. A characteristic last-minute dash brought third place for a dissatisfied Mark Cavendish, who retains the points leader's green jersey for a third day, while Fabian Cancellara maintains his fractional advantage over Lance Armstrong in the overall classification. Yet this day was about Voeckler, who is known as Le Chou-Chou – the sweetheart. He is a small, modest and eloquent man who turned 30 last month and whose supreme achievement to date came five years ago today, when he took the maillot jaune on the fifth stage of the Tour and retained it, against the odds, for 10 days."

Brendan Gallagher, Daily Telegraph: "Before the Tour Cavendish insisted that he wouldn’t be chasing intermediate sprints en route, at least not unless he absolutely had to, but he would race all the bunch finishes flat out regardless of whether the break had kept away for the day or if he made a mistake. For a competitor ordinarily concerned only with winning that is an important but necessary change of mindset. Coming first is fantastic, but third is not to be sniffed at either. An interesting day had begun at Cap D’Agde, fame for its nudist colonies, with the peloton in contrast covering up most of their raw flesh. The hot sun and wind has been relentless in recent days and the racing itinerary unforgiving."

Jeremy Whittle, the Times: "There was a time when French riders dominated the Tour de France. Not any more, however, which is why the victory by Thomas Voeckler in Perpignan yesterday on stage five was so special for home fans. A few years ago, Voeckler was touted as the great new French hope, but despite a sustained spell in the yellow jersey in 2004, flattered to deceive. It is now 24 years since the last French victory in the Tour, that of Bernard Hinault in 1985. Hinault had two great rivals in his heyday: Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. In 1986, LeMond ushered in a new era and fuelled the growth of American cycling by beating Hinault to become the first English-speaker to win the Tour."