Tour de France Stage 18: Mark Cavendish wins battle of the sprinters
| Bordeaux, France
When a 123-mile stage is a welcome break for riders, it鈥檚 been a tough Tour de France.
After an exhausting climb through the 笔测谤茅苍茅别蝉 Thursday, the race today moved leisurely along the southwest Atlantic coast towards Bordeaux, where HTC-Columbia鈥檚 Mark Cavendish won Stage 18 in a sprint finish.
The overall standings did not change 鈥� race leader Alberto Contador maintained his eight-second lead over Andy Schleck as the riders were ensconced safely in the peloton throughout the day.
IN PICTURES: Scenes from the 2010 Tour de France
It鈥檚 customary on long, flat stages like this for the top riders to stay within the bunch, mainly to conserve energy and be sheltered from the wind.
Third-placed Samuel Sanchez, who lost critical time yesterday on the Col du Tourmalet, is three minutes and thirty-two seconds behind Contador heading into Saturday鈥檚 penultimate stage.
Saturday, Stage 19, Schleck's last shot
Saturday鈥檚 time trial, an individual race against the clock, is a 32.3-mile route that starts in Bordeaux and ends in Pauillac, one of France鈥檚 most esteemed wine producing towns.
It will essentially be Andy Schleck鈥檚 last chance to regain the yellow jersey 鈥� which he lost on Stage 15 after suffering a mechanical breakdown.
If Contador can manage to increase his lead Saturday, which many expect, Sunday鈥檚 final stage into Paris will be largely processional.
鈥淎ll day today I was thinking about the chrono tomorrow,鈥� Schleck told reporters after today's race. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be the most important day of my career so far.鈥�
While Schleck, a Luxembourger, won his country鈥檚 time trial championship this year, he鈥檚 not considered as strong as the defending champion Contador.
The 27-year old Spaniard has worked hard to improve his individual skills after finishing fifth in the event during the 2007 Tour de France, though he eventually won the race.
This year, he has already won two time trials.
Despite his advantage, Contador is not letting his guard down.
鈥淚 think Andy is really strong and he鈥檚 very confident,鈥� said Contador. 鈥淚 think tomorrow I will have to fight a lot to win the stage.鈥�
Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz battle of the sprinters
With film stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz watching the race from official cars, Stage 18 fittingly came down to a battle between cycling鈥檚 prima donnas 鈥� the sprinters.
Briton Mark Cavendish, fighting bronchitis, powered past his rivals in the last 300 meters to take his fourth stage win of the race.
鈥淚 thought I had left it too late,鈥� he said in a post-race press conference. 鈥淏ut I was happy how I jumped on it.鈥�
His last victory during this Tour came on Stage 11 in Bourg-l猫s-Valence, when teammate Mark Renshaw was kicked out of the Tour for head-butting an opponent in the final meters.
Today鈥檚 sprint also shook up the standings for the green jersey 鈥� a points-based competition for best sprinter.
Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who started the day in green, relinquished his lead to Italian Alessandro Petacchi on the quick burst to the finish.
There are no chances tomorrow to pick up sprint points, so Petacchi will have to wait until Sunday鈥檚 final kilometers on the 颁丑补尘辫蝉-脡濒测蝉茅别蝉 in Paris to defend the jersey.
IN PICTURES: Scenes from the 2010 Tour de France
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