Cavendish wins sixth stage, Cancellara in yellow

Briton Mark Cavendish of the HTC-Columbia team won the sixth stage of the Tour de France yesterday, with Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara retaining the leader's yellow jersey. Cavendish was expertly led into a sprint finish by team-mate Mark Renshaw and...

Briton Mark Cavendish of the HTC-Columbia team won the sixth stage of the Tour de France yesterday, with Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara retaining the leader's yellow jersey.

Cavendish was expertly led into a sprint finish by team-mate Mark Renshaw and came in ahead of American Tyler Farrar and Italian Alessandro Petacchi, with Australian Robbie McEwen in fourth.

A three-man breakaway formed early in the 227.5km stage from Montargis, but despite their lead reaching a significant eight minutes by the 60km mark the collective strength of the peloton gradually prevailed. With 73km to ride the lead of Spaniard Ruben Perez Moreno, German Sebastian Lang and France's Mathieu Perget had more than halved.

The HTC-Columbia team of sprinter Cavendish was ever-present at the front of the chasing pack for most of the day, being joined by the Saxo Bank team of Cancellara and some other sprinters' teams as they rolled through Burgundy.

Together, they helped slash the deficit to just 40secs with 25.4km and only one of the stage's small climbs remaining, making the prospect of a bunch sprint a mere formality.

Today's seventh stage is a 165.5km ride from Tournus to Les Rousses ski station at the foot of the French Alps.

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