Pic ⓒ TDWsports.com |
Another win for Mark Cavendish in the Tour of California, making it a stunning two in a row on the fifth stage of the race, and again Tom Boonen was the nearest challenger to his victory.
The long 210km stage from Visalia to Paso Robles, the longest of the race, featured a daring day long breakaway of six riders , but the sprinters teams brought the riders back together before the finish, with Columbia-Highroad setting Cavendish up for the win to perfection.
“The team did another great job for me today,” said Cavendish, “they chased hard all day to bring the break back and finished it off with the perfect lead out.”
“I sprinted extra hard today because I could see a shadow coming up behind me and I thought it was Tom Boonen coming up to me again. It turns out I was sprinting against my own shadow,” he joked.