In a tight finish to Stage 5 of the 2011 Tour de France, HTC-Highroad's Mark Cavendish inched out Philippe Gilbert to win this portion of the race. Several cyclists had a chance to win at the end, including yellow jersey-holder Thor Hushovd of Garmin-Cervelo, but he wound up 10th this time. There will be no change of jersey as a result.
This was Cavendish's 16th stage win in the Tour de France and his first of this year's race. He won in 3:38:32, but he is 81st overall at 17:41:19.
Jose Joaquin Rojas kept his green jersey with 119 points, but he leads Philippe Gilbert by just one point. Geraint Thomas is the best young rider at 17:37:09.
This stage did see at least 10 crashes, including one elimination after the rider hit the ground hard and was put on an ambulance for treatment at a hospital. Alberto Contador also had an accident shortly after that happened, but he was not injured and was able to finish the race. Tom Boonen also crashed to the ground, tore his jersey and began to bleed on his thigh, but he did finish the race. There was one accident when one racer was unable to stop as the rest of the peloton took a brief natural stop.
Here are the top five overall:
1. Thor Hushovd 17:36:57
2. Cadel Evans 17:36:58
3. Frank Schleck 17:37:01
4. David Millar 17:37:05
5. Andréas Klöden 17:37:07
For in-depth coverage of the race, visit out cycling blog, Podium Cafe, and our SB Nation StoryStream.