Tour De France: Cavendish Grabs Glory As Ricco is Thrown Out in Disgrace

Mark Cavendish's remarkable run at the Tour De France continued today as he became the first ever British rider to win three stages in a single Tour.

In a day overshadowed by Riccardo Ricco's positive drugs test, Cavendish sped away from the pack to beat Sebastian Chavanel to the line by a bike length.

"Instead of winning by a few bike-lengths I only won by one bike-length today, which shows how tired I am," said Cavendish. "I'm glad I could do it for my team-mates because they've worked so hard for me in the last couple of weeks."

Cadel Evans finished further back, but still hangs on to the yellow jersey, just one second ahead of Frank Schleck.

Cavendish has now proved himself to be one of the most devastating sprinters on the Tour, and if he hangs on until Paris, has a great opportunity to record victory No4.