Cavendish finally gets his Vuelta stage

Image 1 of 48

He's worn the race's red leader's jersey for three stages, but Mark Cavendish, until today, had been shut out of any stage wins in this year's Vuelta a España. That all changed in Lleida, 12 days after HTC-Columbia won the opening team time trial, as teammate Matthew Goss delivered an unbeatable lead-out through the final corner that left Cavendish bike lengths ahead of his rivals at the line.

Goss pulled out such an advantage for Cavendish that he claimed third on the stage only because he took time to raise his arms in a victory salute and point to his star teammate, allowing Garmin's Tyler Farrar to slip in ahead for second.

Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) was a new name in the finale, topping Thor Hushovd (Cervelo TestTeam) for the fourth spot.

"We're really happy to have won today," Cavendish said. "That was thanks to my lead-out man Goss. He did an incredible job."

Cavendish wanted his teammate Goss to take the victory, but the Aussie pulled off with 200m to go and Cavendish had no choice but to take the reins himself.

"The finale was chaotic, really chaotic. I thought we were too far back with 600 metres to go but Goss went down the outside. I thought he wouldn't get round the [final] corner, so I eased off but he made it. I looked round and saw we had a massive gap. I wanted to give him the win but he said 'Go! Go!' The group was coming so I went for it.

"It's great when we win like that. We didn't have to ride today because we had Lars Bak in the break. Garmin and the others did [chase] and perhaps made it hard for themselves because they pulled early to get the break back before the climb but it didn't work out."

Cavendish has now won 10 times in 2010, despite dental problems wrecking his early season. With his Vuelta stage victory, Cavendish joins Robert Millar as the only Britons to win stages at each of the three Grand Tours.

"The Vuelta is a beautiful race," said Cavendish. "It’s pretty nice to have now won stages at each Grand Tour. Everyone knows the passion I have for these races. I used to watch them as a kid. To stand on the podium is pretty special.

"I just love winning and being part of a winning team. I hope to keep winning as long as I'm a professional."

The situation remained largely unchanged for the general classification, with Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) enjoying a quiet day in the red leader's jersey. The Spaniard's advantage over Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo) and Xavier Tondo (Cervelo TestTeam), second and third overall, remained at 45 seconds and 1:04 respectively.

"This was a stage for pure sprinters and the scenario has been according to what everybody planned," said Anton. "One day after winning in Pal, I had good legs and I was very happy to wear the red jersey. My team has done a great work to protect me, notably in the finale when there was a lot of tension. One more good day at the office has passed."

Cavendish moved ahead of Anton on the points classification with his stage win in Lleida, the first visit by the Vuelta to that city since 1989. The last time the Vuelta visited the finishing city of Lleida, 21 years ago, British sprinter Malcolm Elliott prevailed, winning the second and final Vuelta stage of his career. Elliott also won the points classification in the 1989 Vuelta, a feat Cavendish may duplicate as well.

"I want to finish the Vuelta and I'd like to win the green jersey," said Cavendish. "I'll try to get to Madrid and fight for intermediate sprints. To do at the Vuelta what Malcolm Elliott did before is special. He still races when I race back at home. I'm not quite good looking like him but I try to be as good on a bike as he was at these kind of races."

David Moncoutie's lead in the mountains classification remained unchallenged on the day as the points on offer for the day's solitary climb, the category 2 Coll de Bóixols, were swept up by riders in the break who posed no threat to the Frenchman's lead.

A day for the sprinters

With a parcours favourable to the peloton's sprinters, plus a relative dearth of field sprint opportunities in the Vuelta, a day for the fast men looked inevitable. Nonetheless, six riders attacked early in the stage in the hopes of dictating a different outcome for the stage finale in Lleida.

Markus Eichler (Team Milram), Perrig Quemeneur (BBOX Bouygues Telecom), Gustavo Cesar (Xacobeo Galicia), Lars Ytting Bak (HTC-Columbia), Antonio Piedra (Andalucia CajaSur) and Blel Kadri (Ag2R-La Mondiale) attacked after 10 kilometres and three reinforcements arrived at kilometre 51 in Xacobeo Galicia teammates David Garcia Dapena and Gustavo Rodriguez plus Marco Marzano (Lampre-Farnese Vini).

The arrival of Garcia Dapena, 19th on general classification at 5:04 behind race leader Igor Anton, guaranteed close attention from the peloton.

"It was a half-assed front group because of the presence of three riders from Xacobeo-Galicia, notably David Garcia Dapena," said breakaway rider Perrig Quemeneur (BBOX Bouygues Telecom), riding his first Grand Tour. "The bunch would have never let him too far ahead. Therefore I never believed in our chances to contest the stage win, but it was so good to be at the front."

The escapees were kept on a short leash with their maximum advantage topping out at 3:18 early in the stage. With a predominantly straight and flat run-in to Lleida over the final 35km, the break was powerless to fend off the pursuit of the peloton and the field came together with 23km remaining.

Lampre-Farnese Vini, Liquigas-Doimo and Garmin-Transitions all fought for control of the head of the race on the quick run into Lleida, but it was the HTC-Columbia team that pulled it all together perfectly entering the final corner, and Cavendish had no choice but to finish off their work with a commanding stage victory.

Full Results