Hushovd to build lead over Cavendish

Tuesday 13th July 2010

Thor Hushovd sought to distance himself from rival Mark Cavendish on the Tour de France’s second Alpine stage.

On a day where the climbers will come to the fore and the general classification standings were expected to be shaken up, Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) was part of the early break on the 204.5-kilometre ninth stage from Morzine-Avoriaz to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.

Hushovd, wearing the green jersey to signify his position as leading the points competition, won the day’s opening sprint in Cluses to collect six points, taking his total to 124 points.

Cavendish (HTC-Columbia) lies fifth with 85 points, but as he struggles in the mountains, his main hope of bridging the gap is by winning stages on flatter terrain.

Hushovd won the race for the maillot vert by 10 points from Cavendish in 2009, with intermediate sprints such as today’s contributing to his total.

The Norwegian crashed soon after the sprint to fall back from the front group, but he was ahead of the peloton and seeking to respond with one more sprint available today.

Nine riders, including King of the Mountains Jerome Pineau (QuickStep), had a lead of more than three minutes with 152km remaining.

Source: ESPNstar.com