He's Back

Photo credit © Fotoreporter Sirotti

After three crash riddled stages and one boring stage, the Tour de France is back to normal.
Mark Cavendish is also back, proving again today that he is the fastest sprinter in cycling.
Thor Hushovd's 10th place finish was good enough to keep him in the green jersey, but his lead is now starting to dwindle.  Alessandro Petacchi finished third and is now trailing by only four points to Thor.  Robbie McEwen is also inching closer by consistently finishing in the top five.
Tomorrow, the sprinters will stay back as the yellow jersey contenders fight it out in the mountains.  Stage seven will not be the toughest mountain stage, but the Cat. 4 climb at the end will separate out the pretenders.
Prediction for stage seven:  Look for Alberto Contador to prove once again, he is not a team player and attack on his own on the last climb.  It will be tougher for Andy Schleck without his brother leading him up the climbs.  Cadel Evans is in good position and has shown in the past that he is a climber to be reckoned with.  This year Cadel has a team that will be working for him, especially George Hincapie.  Another name that has not been mentioned and should be considered is Denis Menchov of Team Rabobank.  Although I would love to see him win, unless Lance Armstrong has been hiding something, I don't see him finishing in the top five.

Results - Stage 6 

1	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	5:37:42
2	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions
3	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini
4	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha
5	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram
6	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
7	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne
8	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
9	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions
10	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team

General Classification (Yellow Jersey)

1	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	28:37:30
2	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:00:20
3	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	0:00:39
4	Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin - Transitions	0:00:46
5	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	0:01:01
6	Andy Schleck (LUX) Team Saxo Bank	0:01:09
7	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	0:01:16
8	Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana	0:01:31
9	Alberto Contador Velasco (ESP) Astana	0:01:40
10	Jurgen Van Den Broeck (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	0:01:42
11	Nicolas Roche (IRL) AG2R La Mondiale
12	Johan Van Summeren (BEL) Garmin - Transitions	0:01:47
13	Denis Menchov (RUS) Rabobank	0:01:49
14	Bradley Wiggins (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team
15	David Millar (GBR) Garmin - Transitions	0:02:06
16	Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Liquigas-Doimo	0:02:24
17	Luis León Sánchez Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:25
18	Lance Armstrong (USA) Team Radioshack	0:02:30
19	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	0:02:32
20	Thomas Löfkvist (SUI) Sky Professional Cycling Team	0:02:34

Point Standings (Green Jersey)

1	Thor Hushovd (NOR) Cervelo Test Team	118	pts
2	Alessandro Petacchi (ITA) Lampre-Farnese Vini	114
3	Robbie McEwen (AUS) Team Katusha	105
4	Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (ESP) Caisse d'Epargne	92
5	Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team HTC - Columbia	85
6	Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	82
7	Sébastien Turgot (FRA) Bbox Bouygues Telecom	79
8	Geraint Thomas (GBR) Sky Professional Cycling Team	74
9	Gerald Ciolek (GER) Team Milram	71
10	Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas-Doimo	54
11	Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions	53
12	Mark Renshaw (AUS) Team HTC - Columbia	48
13	Jurgen Roelandts (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto	47
14	Cadel Evans (AUS) BMC Racing Team	46
15	Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) Quick Step	44
16	Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin - Transitions	39
17	Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Team Saxo Bank	37
18	Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA) Française des Jeux	34
19	Lloyd Mondory (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale	33
20	Ruben Perez Moreno (ESP) Euskaltel - Euskadi	31