Making a mad dash to the finish line, Mark Cavendish won his second stage of the 2011 Tour De France by taking Stage 7 at Châteauroux in 5:38:53. This was his 17th career Tour de France stage victory, fifth all-time. Thor Hushovd finished seventh, but did not lose any time. He will retain the yellow jersey. Alessandro Petacchi, Andre Greipel, Romain Feillu and William Bonnet finished out the top five.
Mickael Delage took 20 points at the Buzançais intermediate sprint, but Cavendish took 11 points to finish 5th in that portion of the race. Jose Joaquin Rojas picked up the green jersey once again after losing it to Philippe Gilbert, now second, earlier in the week. Cavendish is in third with 150 points. Hushovd is four with 130 points.
Tom Boonen abandoned the race, having suffered injuries days earlier. There were several crashes during the day, one causing havoc for at least 80 riders. Bradley Wiggins broke his collar bone and left the race. Tyler Farrar was able to continue the race, but he was unable to remake that lost ground.
The top five riders:
1. Thor Hushovd 28:29:27
2. Cadel Evans 28:29:28
3. Frank Schleck 28:29:31
4. David Millar 28:29:35
5. Andreas Kloden 28:29:37
For in-depth coverage of the race, visit out cycling blog, Podium Cafe, and our SB Nation StoryStream.