CAVENDISH HITS THE JACKPOT IN TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 5

(July 9, 2008) Team Columbia’s Mark Cavendish blasted to his first stage win in the Tour de France on Wednesday’s stage from Cholet to Chateauroux. The 23-year-old Briton from the Isle of Man finished over a bike length ahead of three-times World Champion Oscar Freire from Spain of the Rabobank squad, with German Erik Zabel of Team Milram in third.

It was Cavendish’s eighth road-race win of 2008 and 19th road-race victory of his career. It has been a remarkable year so far for Team Columbia; Cavendish’s win is the 46th of 2008 for the men’s team. The men and women of Team Columbia ride the Giant TCR Advanced SL bicycle. So far this season, no other team in the pro peloton has as many victories as Team Columbia.

“This is far and away the biggest win of my career!” Cavendish said afterwards. “Everyone knows what the Tour is, when you’re a kid you watch it on TV, you dream of being there. I’ve always known how important the Tour is.”

Strongly supported by all eight Columbia team-mates in the frantic finale, Cavendish said their hard work “…shows just how self-sacrificing they are. They did everything they could do to help me there, and I had to do my best to pay them back and win.”

“They’ve worked with total commitment all week,” he added. “Today we had to top the podium. I couldn’t really come away without the victory.”

Although Olympic ambitions are high on Cavendish’s list of priorities this year, he is adamant that he has no plans to abandon.

“I want to go all the way to Paris. To plan to do otherwise would be disrespectful to the organizers, my team, the other riders and the race.”

Discussing the team’s role in the finale, Cavendish said that German team-mate Gerald Ciolek “led me out from 600 meters. That’s a long way to go in the headwind, but you saw how fast he went past the other guys.”

“Then when [rival rider Mark] Renshaw went with [sprinter Thor Hushovd of the Credit Agricole team] with 250 meters. That was a bit early in the sprint for me to accelerate.”

Cavendish went on, “But after Renshaw had given Hushovd a good lead-out then my own final acceleration would have been less efficent if I had waited for my usual distance. So I had to go for it when they did.”
“Fortunately my strength was enough to take me all the way to the line. I was able to hold it all the way there and it all paid off.”

At the end of Stage 5, Mark’s team mate, Kim Kirchen, still holds second in the overall G.C., just 12 seconds behind leader Stefan Shumacher of the Gerolsteiner squad. Team Columbia riders George Hincapie and Thomas Lovkvist are 7th and 8th respectively in the GC. Lovkvist retains the Young Rider Classification jersey for another day.

For more information on Team Columbia please visit www.highroadsports.com