Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Mark Cavendish, from the Isle of Man, won his sixth sprint finish in the 2009 Tour de France. It was the most prestigious but in some ways also the easiest as his Columbia teammates, especially Australian Mark Renshaw, gave him a big lead into the final 100 metres.
The final day was a traditional affair, at a leisurely pace for much of the stage before a break by seven riders in search of glory.
The Columbia team lead the pack as the leading group was hauled back, but their pace was so great that many of the potential challengers for the sprint could not keep up, allowing Cavendish and Renshaw to dominate.
The main places had already been decided: Alberto Cantador was first for Astana, with Andy Schleck, Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins and Frank Schleck taking the next places.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was hospitalized after feeling unwell, but it is not clear whether this was caused by another dismal showing by French cyclists, the Renault team being suspended from the next Formula One Grand Prix, or for some other reason.
Details: The Guardian
This work by genevalunch.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported.
News story, GenevaLunch, 26 July 2009.
Filed under: Sports
Tags: Alberto Cantador, Andy Schleck, Astana, bike racing, Bradley Wiggins, Columbia, cycling, France, Isle of Man, Lance Armstrong, Mark Cavendish, Mark Renshaw, Nicolas Sarkozy, paris, Tour de France, winner
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