Cavendish takes green with another sprint masterclass

Mark Cavendish won the 11th stage of the Tour de France with a battling performance in heavy rain and despite a damaged shoe. The British rider avenged Tuesday's defeat by Andre Greipel by sprinting to victory at the end of the 167.5km route from Blaye les Mines to Lavaur. "I have to thank my team-mates for the work they did, even the guys who are in the top 10 overall gave it 100 per cent and that shows what a great team we are," Cavendish said later as he celebrated his third stage win of the Tour.

It was a victory that enabled him to slip on the race's green jersey, awarded to the most consistent sprinter overall, for the first time this year. Cavendish has 251 points with Jose Joaquin Rojas second on 235, Gilbert third on 231 and Greipel fourth on 164. "It's incredible to have the green jersey, it's the most beautiful jersey in the world," said Cavendish, who now has 18 stage wins in total in the Tour de France, only four behind seven-Times winner Lance Armstrong but still some way behind Eddy Merckx's record of 34.

Cavendish was in control throughout the comparatively flat route and even the torrential rain that descended on the riders in the latter stages couldn't prevent the 'Manx Missile' powering to victory. Dutch rider Lars Boom had tried to outpace Cavendish with four kilometres to go but the Briton's HTC-Highland team reined him in, allowing their man to cross the line first with Greipel in second place even though a slight collision with another rider practically tore his shoe from his foot in the final few hundred metres. "There are two more bunch sprints in this year's race and I want to try to win both of them," said Cavendish, adding: "It's not easy fighting for the green jersey but I'm going to keep going and try to keep hold of it right through to the end."

Before those remaining sprints, however, Cavendish must contend with the Pyrenees and three mountain stages that will exact a heavy toll on the sprinters.

Thursday's 12th stage is a gruelling 211km ride from Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden during which riders must surmount the legendary Col du Tourmalet, the first time in this year's race that the peloton will climb over 2,000m. The French fans will be out in force on Bastille Day – a national holiday – but only 15 French riders have triumphed in the July 14 stage in 64 attempts, the last being David Moncoutié in 2005.

The 13th stage includes the daunting 16.4km ascent of Col d'Aubisque (1,709m in height) while the 14th stage on Saturday from Saint-Gaudens to Plateau de Beille has five vertiginous climbs and will probably be the one that determines the winner of this year's race.

Though Thomas Voeckler of the Europcar team is still wearing the overall race leader's yellow jersey, he will be aware that Frank and Andy Schelk, both strong climbers, are close behind in fourth and fifth respectively. And though Alberto Contador's knee problems suggest the three-times Tour champion will struggle to make an impact in the mountains, Australia's Cadel Evans, currently in third place overall, is tipped to launch a serious challenge in the coming days.

The 34-year-old Aussie, who rides for the BMC Racing team and who owes his name to his Welsh ancestors, said: "I expect Alberto to test us again at Luz-Ardiden...[but] I'm confident my guys are going to do their best. But until we get to the mountains, you don't really know how you are going." ·