Mark Cavendish breaks Tour de France drought and dedicates stage win to Tony Martin

It was a second straight win for the Etixx-Quick Step team, and went some way to making up for the loss of the yellow jersey due to Tony Martin’s broken collarbone.

Mark Cavendish chipped in with a stage win for Etixx-Quick Step after Tour de France leader Tony Martin broke his colar-bone the day before. Bryn Lennon / Getty Images

Mark Cavendish won his 26th Tour de France stage on Friday to take sole possession of third place on the overall list.

Cavendish darted down the inside to deny German Andre Greipel a third sprint finish stage win this year as Peter Sagan finished third at the end of the 190.5km seventh stage from Livarot to Fougeres.

It was a second straight win for the Etixx-Quick Step team following Zdenek Stybar's success on Thursday, and went some way to making up for the loss of the yellow jersey due to Tony Martin's broken collarbone.

Martin crashed on Thursday’s stage and had to quit the race despite being in the leader’s yellow jersey, before undergoing a successful operation in Hamburg on Friday.

Cavendish had not won a Tour stage since 2013 having crashed out with a separated shoulder on the first stage of the 2014 edition.

And he had been out of sorts so far on this Tour, finishing fourth on Sunday’s second stage and third on Wednesday’s fifth stage, both of which were won by Greipel.

But the Briton took a third stage win for Etixx at this Tour – Martin won Tuesday’s fourth stage – and moved one clear of Frenchman Andre Leducq on the overall list headed by two Tour legends and five-time overall champions: Eddy Merckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28).

“I’m very happy, I waited a week now for this win personally,” Cavendish said. “It’s Etixx’s third win of this Tour de France. The team’s been phenomenal. It’s just me that’s let them down in the sprints.”

“They could have saved themselves for other days but they didn’t and went full gas for the win.

“I’m supper happy, it’s just a shame Tony’s not here but I dedicate the win to him.”

German Greipel’s second place ensured he maintained his lead in the green points jersey ahead of Sagan.

But the Slovak moved up to second in the overall standings thanks to a time bonus on the line to sit just 5sec behind leader Chris Froome, who had refused to wear the yellow jersey on Friday as a mark of respect towards Martin.

In other news, Italian rider Luca Paolini from Russian team Katusha was thrown out of the Tour de France yesterday after testing positive for cocaine during the race.

Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, said in a statement that the 38-year-old Paolini was tested on July 7, the day of the fourth stage of cycling’s biggest race.

Paolini, who was a support rider for teammates Joaquim Rodriguez and Alexander Kristoff at the Tour, can request a “B” sample to be tested after he was notified “of an adverse analytical finding of cocaine,” the UCI said. It’s the first positive test of this year’s Tour.

In accordance with UCI anti-doping rules, Paolini has been provisionally suspended.

Paolini, who was 168th overall after yesterday’s seventh stage, won the Gent-Wevelgem one-day classic earlier this season.

Katusha spokesman Philippe Maertens said Paolini “was shocked” when finding out about the result.

In March, the one-day classics specialist posted his first victory in nearly two years after overcoming heavy wind and rain and conditions to win Gent-Wevelgem.

His previous victory came in May 2013 when he claimed a stage win at the Giro d’Italia.

During his career, he also secured podium-finishes at the world championships, in the Tour of Flanders and in Milano-San Remo.

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