Cavendish wins third Tour de France stage

BOURG-LES-VALENCE, France, July 15 (UPI) -- Mark Cavendish collected his third stage victory of the 2010 Tour de France in a mass finish Thursday that left Andy Schleck in the overall lead.

Cavendish, who won the fifth and sixth stages last week, again used strong teamwork in pulling out Thursday's Stage 11 win.

The riders were packed in and moving at more than 35 mph when Team HTC-Columbia lined up expertly as the race entered its final mile. Mark Renshaw was again given the final lead-in before Cavendish's final kick gave him the win. Cavendish edged Alessandro Petacchi and Tyler Farrar, who finished second and third, respectively.

The official time for the 110.7-mile run from Sisteron to Bourg-les-Valence was 4 hours, 42 minutes and 29 seconds. A total of 111 riders were assigned that finishing time.

The overall leaders were among that group, meaning there was no change in Schleck's 41-second lead over Alberto Contador. No other cyclists are within 2 1/2 minutes of the lead.

Friday's stage, the 12th in the 20-leg Tour de France, is a 126.3-mile course from Bourg-de-Peage southeast to Mende. There are three Category 3 climbs and two Category 2 climbs. The first Category 2 is about a 12-mile rise on Suc de Montivernoux and the other comes right near the end of the stage.