2016 Tour de France: Cavendish Takes Stage 3 in Photo Finish

Mark Cavendish is certainly making up for lost time in the 2016 Tour de France. After a few summers of disappointing performances in France, the Manx Missile claimed his second stage win of the 2016 race with a Stage 3 photo finish over German champion Andre Greipel. The victory pulled Cavendish into a tie with French legend Bernard Hinault for the second-most stage wins in Tour history, putting him just six behind Eddy Merckx for the all-time record. It also extended Cavendish’s record number of mass-start stage wins (not including time trials).

The race started slowly, with Armindo Fonseca breaking away early in the day and staying alone off the front for over 140 kilometers. Fonseca built up a maximum lead of just over 11 minutes on the peloton, though that occurred with a pace hovering well below 40 kilometers per hour. Eventually he was joined by French veteran Thomas Voeckler, who caught up with Fonseca with 80 kilometers remaining. The move by the former French champion, who has previously enjoyed long stretches in the yellow jersey in 2004 and 2011, awakened a lethargic peloton into action, and the lead came down rather quickly once Voeckler was off the front. Stringing along the two breakaway leaders, the main field narrowed the gap but allowed it to yo-yo between 30 seconds and a minute for much of the rest of the day.

The leading pair were swept up by the peloton with less than 10 kilometers remaining on the day, and the sprinters’ teams ramped up their pressure on the front as they jockeyed for position on the urban roads of Angers. The field split with three kilometers remaining, as the pace quickened and left a few teams unprepared. Etixx-Quick Step were at the front as the riders passed under the red flag signifying the final kilometer, and it looked like Marcel Kittel was in spectacular position to ride the slipstream of his teammates right to the line.

Then Greipel, bedecked in the German tricolor as national champion, kick-started the sprint. He could not, however, shake Cavendish from his wheel, and the two came around the final bend with an advantage on the rest of the pack. As Greipel passed the 100-meters-to-go marker, Cavendish pulled out of the draft and slingshotted alongside to Greipel’s left. The two surged in tandem toward the line, each straining himself in hopes of nabbing a key opportunity for sprinters.

As the two reached the line, there was little to separate the pair. Greipel halfheartedly raised his arm in celebration, but it proved premature after the photo finish was evaluated. Cavendish, wearing the green jersey as the understudy to points and general classification leader Peter Sagan, had won his second stage in three days by the width of his tire’s rubber. In the process Cavendish also rode his way back into official control of the green jersey he was keeping warm today, pulling seven points ahead of Sagan — who finished fourth behind Bryan Coquard on the stage — in the classification.

With only one categorized climb for Monday’s Stage 4 run between Saumur and Limoges, the sprinters will look for another chance to unseat Cavendish. It won’t be easy, though, as the British veteran seems to be on better form than at any other point this season. “We won two stages but it’s not perfect,” said Cavendish’s lead-out man Mark Renshaw after the race. “We have a limited team here, only five riders including Cavendish for the finish. Everybody knows their job. We have great riders in Edvald Boasson Hagen and Janse Van Rensburg so a great team and once the ball starts rolling then it just keeps going. He’s on a high and now the team is also.”

If this isn’t yet the best for Cavendish and his Dimension Data teammates, the rest of the sprinters could be fighting for scraps throughout the race.

Stage Results and Standings after Stage 3

Stage Results

General Classification (yellow jersey)

Points Classification (green jersey)

King of the Mountains (polka-dot jersey)

Best Young Rider (white jersey)