Britain’s Mark Cavendish claimed his second successive stage victory in the Tour of Spain on Friday with a sprint finish while Spain’s Igor Anton retained the overall leader’s red jersey.

The 25-year-old HTC-Columbia rider edged his great rival, Norway’s Thor Hushovd of Cervelo, in a mass sprint finish at the end of the 196-kilometer run from Rincon de Soto to Burgos to take the 13th stage Rincon de Soto to Burgos.

He said said HTC-Columbia teammate Matt Goss, who led the sprinter out for a second day running, played a major part in his stage victory.

“Matt was going so fast, I was struggling to stay on his wheel at times. He dive bombed down the side of the bunch and got me into the perfect position,” he said.

“Normally I’d go with 250 meters to go, but I had to hold it until 170 meters this time. Hopefully he’ll get a stage win as well before the race ends.”

Cavendish completed the stage in four hours, 50 minutes and 18 seconds.

The Isle of Man rider, who many consider the best sprinter in the world, also powered to victory in Thursday’s 12th stage — a win that enabled him to claim individual stage wins in all three of cycling’s major Tours.

“It’s an incredible situation for me to be in and I’m so proud to be part of this team,” he said after winning Friday’s stage.

“Every rider here in my team is passionate about the sport, they want to win, they’re not just after money for what they do, they actually care about it, love the sport, they know the history, they want to work together to cross the line first.”

Anton of the Euskatel team retained the red leader’s jersey with a 45 second advantage over Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas-Doimo at the head of the standings.

“Every day is important and you have to protect the jersey. As for the three mountain stages that are coming up, you have to take it day by day,” he said.

“If I have strength I will try to put more distance between me and my rivals but it is not going to be easy,” he added.

The Tour of Spain continues on Saturday with a 178-kilometer run from Burgos to Pena Cabarga, the first of three mountainous stages before an individual time trial in the northern town Penafiel on Tuesday.

The 21-stage Tour of Spain, the third of the Grand Tours after the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, wraps up in Madrid on September 19.

Stage Results:
1. Mark Cavendish (IDM/THR) 4h50min 18sec
(average: 40,5 km/h)
2. Thor Hushovd (NOR/CTT) at 0:00.
3. Daniele Bennati (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.
4. Yauheni Hutarovich (BLR/FDJ) 0:00.
5. Manuel Cardoso (POR/FOT) 0:00.
6. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) 0:00.
7. Denis Galimzyanov (RUS/KAT) 0:00.
8. Koldo Fernandez (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
9. Theo Bos (NED/CTT) 0:00.
10. Johnnie Walker (AUS/FOT) 0:00.
11. Matthew Goss (AUS/THR) 0:00.
12. Danilo Hondo (GER/LAM) 0:00.
13. Sébastien Hinault (FRA/ALM) 0:00.
14. Enrique Mata (ESP/FOT) 0:00.
15. Robert Forster (GER/MRM) 0:00.
16. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA/COF) 0:00.
17. Juan José Haedo (ARG/SAX) 0:00.
18. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.
19. Andreas Stauff (GER/QST) 0:00.
20. Oscar Freire (ESP/RAB) 0:00.
21. Angelo Furlan (ITA/LAM) 0:00.
22. William Bonnet (FRA/BTL) 0:00.
23. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA/GCE) 0:00.
24. Blel Kadri (FRA/ALM) 0:00.
25. Johannes Fröhlinger (GER/MRM) 0:00.
26. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL/OLO) 0:00.
27. Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
28. Valentin Iglinskiy (KAZ/AST) 0:00.
29. Wouter Weylandt (BEL/QST) 0:00.
30. Alexandre Pichot (FRA/BTL) 0:00.
31. Grega Bole (SLO/LAM) 0:00.
32. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.
33. Dominik Roels (GER/MRM) 0:00.
34. Nicolas Roche (EIR/ALM) 0:00.
35. Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.
36. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/THR) 0:00.
37. Peter Velits (SVK/THR) 0:00.
38. Gianni Meersman (BEL/FDJ) 0:00.
39. Egoi Martinez (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
40. Daniele Righi (ITA/LAM) 0:00.
41. Andreï Kashechkin (KAZ/LAM) 0:00.
42. Nico Sijmens (BEL/COF) 0:00.
43. Rigoberto Uran (COL/GCE) 0:00.
44. Oliver Zaugg (SWI/LIQ) 0:00.
45. Ludovic Turpin (FRA/ALM) 0:00.
46. Assan Bazayev (KAZ/AST) 0:00.
47. Vladimir Karpets (RUS/KAT) 0:00.
48. Pablo Urtasun (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
49. Igor Anton (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
50. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS/KAT) 0:00.
51. Manuel Ortega (ESP/ACA) 0:00.
52. Xavier Tondo (ESP/CTT) 0:00.
53. David García (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
54. Vladimir Isaichev (RUS/KGZ) 0:00.
55. Juan Jose Oroz (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
56. Tom Danielson (USA/GRM) 0:00.
57. Jorge Montenegro (ARG/ACA) 0:00.
58. Xavier Florencio (ESP/CTT) 0:00.
59. Vladimir Gusev (RUS/KAT) 0:00.
60. Gustavo Cesar (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
61. Mikel Nieve (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
62. Daniele Pietropolli (ITA/LAM) 0:00.
63. Dario Cataldo (ITA/QST) 0:00.
64. Frederik Willems (BEL/LIQ) 0:00.
65. Romain Zingle (BEL/COF) 0:00.
66. Guillaume Bonnafond (FRA/ALM) 0:00.
67. Carlos Sastre (ESP/CTT) 0:00.
68. Laurens ten Dam (NED/RAB) 0:00.
69. Grischa Niermann (GER/RAB) 0:00.
70. Gustav Larsson (SWE/SAX) 0:00.
71. Frank Schleck (LUX/SAX) 0:00.
72. Bjoern Schroeder (GER/MRM) 0:00.
73. Sergey Renev (KAZ/AST) 0:00.
74. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) 0:00.
75. Jurgen Van Goolen (BEL/OLO) 0:00.
76. David Arroyo (ESP/GCE) 0:00.
77. Gonzalo Rabuñal (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
78. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.
79. David Moncoutié (FRA/COF) 0:00.
80. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.
81. Jean Christophe Péraud (FRA/OLO) 0:00.
82. Dominik Klemme (GER/SAX) 0:00.
83. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP/GCE) 0:00.
84. Remi Pauriol (FRA/COF) 0:00.
85. Jan Bakelants (BEL/OLO) 0:00.
86. Josep Jufre (ESP/AST) 0:00.
87. Paul Voss (GER/MRM) 0:00.
88. Vincent Jérôme (FRA/BTL) 0:00.
89. Luis Pasamontes (ESP/GCE) 0:00.
90. Sébastien Minard (FRA/COF) 0:00.
91. Rubén Plaza (ESP/GCE) 0:00.
92. Gorka Verdugo (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
93. Serafín Martínez (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
94. José Alberto Benítez (ESP/FOT) 0:00.
95. Antonio Piedra (ESP/ACA) 0:00.
96. Tony Gallopin (FRA/COF) 0:00.
97. Inigo Cuesta (ESP/CTT) 0:00.
98. Imanol Erviti (ESP/GCE) 0:00.
99. Jose Angel Gomez Marchante (ESP/ACA) 0:00.
100. Arthur Vichot (FRA/FDJ) 0:00.
101. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ/AST) 0:00.
102. Alexandre Kolobnev (RUS/KAT) 0:00.
103. Arnaud Labbe (FRA/COF) 0:00.
104. Jose Luis Arrieta (ESP/ALM) 0:00.
105. Marcos García (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
106. Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA/ALM) 0:00.
107. Mauricio Ardila (COL/RAB) 0:00.
108. Sergio Carrasco (ESP/ACA) 0:00.
109. Maciej Paterski (POL/LIQ) 0:00.
110. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ/AST) 0:00.
111. Mathieu Sprick (FRA/BTL) 0:00.
112. Thomas Peterson (USA/GRM) 0:00.
113. Andrey Zeits (KAZ/AST) 0:00.
114. Juan Manuel Garate (ESP/RAB) 0:00.
115. Filippo Pozzato (ITA/KAT) 0:00.
116. Giampaolo Caruso (ITA/KAT) 0:00.
117. Delio Fernández (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
118. Joan Horrach (ESP/KAT) 0:00.
119. Javier Ramirez (ESP/ACA) 0:00.
120. Gustavo Rodríguez (ESP/KGZ) 0:00.
121. Perrig Quemeneur (FRA/BTL) 0:00.
122. Amets Txurruka (ESP/EUS) 0:00.
123. José Vicente Toribio (ESP/ACA) 0:00.
124. Mauro Finetto (ITA/LIQ) 0:00.
125. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/OLO) 0:00.
126. Hubert Dupont (FRA/ALM) 0:00.
127. Carlos Barredo (ESP/QST) 0:00.
128. Ivan Santaromita (ITA/LIQ) 0:00..
129. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR/THR) 0:00.
130. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA/AST) 0:00.
131. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/LIQ) 0:25.
132. Mickaël Cherel (FRA/FDJ) 0:25.
133. Sébastian Langeveld (NED/RAB) 0:28.
134. Denis Menchov (RUS/RAB) 0:28.
135. Marco Marzano (ITA/LAM) 0:28.
136. Dmitriy Kozontchuk (RUS/RAB) 0:28.
137. Markus Eichler (GER/MRM) 0:28.
138. Matteo Tosatto (ITA/QST) 0:28.
139. Davide Malacarne (ITA/QST) 0:28.
140. Leif Hoste (BEL/OLO) 0:28.
141. Martin Velits (SVK/THR) 0:36.
142. Christophe Riblon (FRA/ALM) 0:49.
143. Matthew Wilson (AUS/GRM) 0:52.
144. David Millar (GBR/GRM) 0:52.
145. Vicente Garcia Acosta (ESP/GCE) 0:56.
146. David Lopez (ESP/GCE) 0:56.
147. Javier Moreno (ESP/ACA) 0:56.
148. Nick Nuyens (BEL/RAB) 0:56.
149. Nicolas Vogondy (FRA/BTL) 0:56.
150. Fabian Cancellara (SWI/SAX) 1:00.
151. David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (ESP/FOT) 1:00.
152. Pierre Cazaux (FRA/FDJ) 1:00.
153. Anders Lund (DEN/SAX) 1:00.
154. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/OLO) 1:00.
155. Stefan Denifl (AUT/CTT) 1:00.
156. Johann Tschopp (SWI/BTL) 1:00.
157. Kevin De Weert (BEL/QST) 1:00.
158. Nikolas Maes (BEL/QST) 1:00.
159. Martin Pedersen (DEN/FOT) 1:00.
160. Juan Javier Javier Estr (ESP/ACA) 0:00.
161. Kasper Klostergaard (DEN/SAX) 1:13.
162. Benat Intxausti (ESP/EUS) 1:58.
163. Manuele Mori (ITA/LAM) 2:08.
164. Allan Davis (AUS/AST) 2:17.
165. David Zabriskie (USA/GRM) 2:54.
166. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 2:55.
167. Giampaolo Cheula (ITA/FOT) 3:02.
168. Niki Terpstra (NED/MRM) 3:09.
169. Olivier Kaisen (BEL/OLO) 3:50.
170. Oscar Pujol (ESP/CTT) 6:18.
171. Lars Bak (DEN/THR) 7:10.
172. Michel Kreder (NED/GRM) 7:10.
. Julian Dean (NZL/GRM) Withdrawn
. Hayden Roulston (NZL/THR) Retired

Overall Classification Results:
1. Igor Anton (ESP/EUS) 56h28min 03sec
2. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA/LIQ) at 0:45.
3. Xavier Tondo (ESP/CTT) 1:04.
4. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP/KAT) 1:17.
5. Ezequiel Mosquera Miguez (ESP/KGZ) 1:29.
6. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA/GCE) 1:57.
7. Rubén Plaza (ESP/GCE) 2:07.
8. Rigoberto Uran (COL/GCE) 2:13.
9. Nicolas Roche (EIR/ALM) 2:30.
10. Frank Schleck (LUX/SAX) 2:30.
11. Peter Velits (SVK/THR) 2:37.
12. Tom Danielson (USA/GRM) 2:53.
13. Carlos Sastre (ESP/CTT) 3:03.
14. Vladimir Karpets (RUS/KAT) 3:16.
15. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/THR) 3:27.
16. Luis Leon Sanchez (ESP/GCE) 3:40.
17. Jean Christophe Péraud (FRA/OLO) 4:16.
18. Mikel Nieve (ESP/EUS) 4:50.
19. David García (ESP/KGZ) 5:04.
20. David Moncoutié (FRA/COF) 5:41.
21. David Arroyo (ESP/GCE) 6:20.
22. Andreï Kashechkin (KAZ/LAM) 6:59.
23. Inigo Cuesta (ESP/CTT) 7:05.
24. Vladimir Gusev (RUS/KAT) 7:10.
25. Christophe Le Mevel (FRA/FDJ) 7:53.
26. Jan Bakelants (BEL/OLO) 8:01.
27. Laurens ten Dam (NED/RAB) 8:07.
28. Alexandr Dyachenko (KAZ/AST) 9:25.
29. Gustav Larsson (SWE/SAX) 9:40.
30. Ludovic Turpin (FRA/ALM) 9:53.
31. Denis Menchov (RUS/RAB) 9:53.
32. Philippe Gilbert (BEL/OLO) 9:56.
33. Alexandre Kolobnev (RUS/KAT) 12:54.
34. Josep Jufre (ESP/AST) 14:04.
35. Giampaolo Caruso (ITA/KAT) 15:00.
36. Remy Di Gregorio (FRA/FDJ) 15:03.
37. Egoi Martinez (ESP/EUS) 16:04.
38. David Lopez (ESP/GCE) 19:09.
39. Thomas Peterson (USA/GRM) 19:40.
40. Marcos García (ESP/KGZ) 21:01.
41. Roman Kreuziger (CZE/LIQ) 21:08.
42. Marco Marzano (ITA/LAM) 22:59.
43. Gonzalo Rabuñal (ESP/KGZ) 24:57.
44. Jurgen Van Goolen (BEL/OLO) 26:23.
45. Guillaume Bonnafond (FRA/ALM) 27:18.
46. Carlos Barredo (ESP/QST) 27:21.
47. Filippo Pozzato (ITA/KAT) 27:58.
48. Juan Jose Oroz (ESP/EUS) 28:25.
49. Amets Txurruka (ESP/EUS) 29:47.
50. Luis Pasamontes (ESP/GCE) 30:37.
51. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR/THR) 33:25.
52. Juan Manuel Garate (ESP/RAB) 34:18.
53. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL/OLO) 34:38.
54. Johannes Fröhlinger (GER/MRM) 36:03.
55. Javier Moreno (ESP/ACA) 36:13.
56. Daniele Pietropolli (ITA/LAM) 37:46.
57. Dmitriy Fofonov (KAZ/AST) 38:30.
58. Gustavo Cesar (ESP/KGZ) 39:06.
59. Jose Angel Gomez Marchante (ESP/ACA) 39:50.
60. Ivan Santaromita (ITA/LIQ) 43:49.
61. Maciej Paterski (POL/LIQ) 44:09.
62. Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA/ALM) 44:44.
63. Dario Cataldo (ITA/QST) 45:06.
64. Oscar Pujol (ESP/CTT) 45:35.
65. Oliver Zaugg (SWI/LIQ) 47:34.
66. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA/AST) 48:39.
67. Mauro Finetto (ITA/LIQ) 50:31.
68. Gustavo Rodríguez (ESP/KGZ) 52:48.
69. Serafín Martínez (ESP/KGZ) 53:23.
70. José Alberto Benítez (ESP/FOT) 54:06.
71. Delio Fernández (ESP/KGZ) 54:12.
72. Manuele Mori (ITA/LAM) 55:00.
73. Imanol Erviti (ESP/GCE) 55:59.
74. Assan Bazayev (KAZ/AST) 56:22.
75. Jelle Vanendert (BEL/OLO) 58:11.
76. Matteo Tosatto (ITA/QST) 58:35.
77. Joan Horrach (ESP/KAT) 59:05.
78. Mathieu Sprick (FRA/BTL) 59:34.
79. Romain Zingle (BEL/COF) 1h01:01.
80. Mickaël Cherel (FRA/FDJ) 1h01:49.
81. Anders Lund (DEN/SAX) 1h02:20.
82. Oscar Freire (ESP/RAB) 1h02:41.
83. Tony Gallopin (FRA/COF) 1h03:08.
84. Daniele Bennati (ITA/LIQ) 1h03:55.
85. Johann Tschopp (SWI/BTL) 1h03:57.
86. Arthur Vichot (FRA/FDJ) 1h04:31.
87. Grischa Niermann (GER/RAB) 1h05:31.
88. Juan Javier Javier Estr (ESP/ACA) 1h06:33.
89. Blel Kadri (FRA/ALM) 1h06:47.
90. Gorka Verdugo (ESP/EUS) 1h07:43.
91. Xavier Florencio (ESP/CTT) 1h08:30.
92. Hubert Dupont (FRA/ALM) 1h09:31.
93. Grega Bole (SLO/LAM) 1h10:00.
94. Frederik Willems (BEL/LIQ) 1h10:37.
95. Sébastien Minard (FRA/COF) 1h11:40.
96. Javier Ramirez (ESP/ACA) 1h13:40.
97. Remi Pauriol (FRA/COF) 1h15:00.
98. Paul Voss (GER/MRM) 1h15:08.
99. Christian Vande Velde (USA/GRM) 1h15:39.
100. Jose Luis Arrieta (ESP/ALM) 1h15:41.
101. Andrey Zeits (KAZ/AST) 1h16:22.
102. Kevin De Weert (BEL/QST) 1h16:57.
103. Nicolas Vogondy (FRA/BTL) 1h19:04.
104. Perrig Quemeneur (FRA/BTL) 1h20:28.
105. Vincent Jérôme (FRA/BTL) 1h22:44.
106. Niki Terpstra (NED/MRM) 1h23:17.
107. Giampaolo Cheula (ITA/FOT) 1h24:12.
108. Sergio Carrasco (ESP/ACA) 1h24:40.
109. Sergey Renev (KAZ/AST) 1h25:20.
110. Bjoern Schroeder (GER/MRM) 1h25:43.
111. Pablo Urtasun (ESP/EUS) 1h32:57.
112. Pierre Cazaux (FRA/FDJ) 1h34:35.
113. Sébastien Hinault (FRA/ALM) 1h35:06.
114. Danilo Hondo (GER/LAM) 1h35:21.
115. Manuel Ortega (ESP/ACA) 1h35:46.
116. Dominik Roels (GER/MRM) 1h36:09.
117. Allan Davis (AUS/AST) 1h36:17.
118. Martin Pedersen (DEN/FOT) 1h36:31.
119. Gianni Meersman (BEL/FDJ) 1h37:01.
120. Samuel Dumoulin (FRA/COF) 1h37:28.
121. Nico Sijmens (BEL/COF) 1h37:52.
122. Vicente Garcia Acosta (ESP/GCE) 1h39:59.
123. William Bonnet (FRA/BTL) 1h41:05.
124. Antonio Piedra (ESP/ACA) 1h41:45.
125. Thor Hushovd (NOR/CTT) 1h42:06.
126. Martin Velits (SVK/THR) 1h42:40.
127. David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (ESP/FOT) 1h43:06.
128. Daniele Righi (ITA/LAM) 1h43:38..
129. Mauricio Ardila (COL/RAB) 1h44:44.
130. Markus Eichler (GER/MRM) 1h45:12.
131. David Millar (GBR/GRM) 1h45:28.
132. Davide Malacarne (ITA/QST) 1h46:36.
133. Manuel Cardoso (POR/FOT) 1h46:48.
134. Christophe Riblon (FRA/ALM) 1h49:50.
135. Alexandre Pichot (FRA/BTL) 1h50:20.
136. Leif Hoste (BEL/OLO) 1h50:39.
137. Stefan Denifl (AUT/CTT) 1h52:00.
138. Enrique Mata (ESP/FOT) 1h52:37.
139. Yauheni Hutarovich (BLR/FDJ) 1h54:15.
140. Sébastian Langeveld (NED/RAB) 1h56:18.
141. Dmitriy Kozontchuk (RUS/RAB) 1h56:21.
142. Sebastien Chavanel (FRA/FDJ) 1h57:28.
143. David Zabriskie (USA/GRM) 1h57:58.
144. Kasper Klostergaard (DEN/SAX) 1h58:29.
145. Nikolas Maes (BEL/QST) 1h58:54.
146. Vladimir Isaichev (RUS/KGZ) 1h59:19.
147. Olivier Kaisen (BEL/OLO) 1h59:37.
148. José Vicente Toribio (ESP/ACA) 1h59:44.
149. Koldo Fernandez (ESP/EUS) 2h00:23.
150. Tyler Farrar (USA/GRM) 2h01:20.
151. Nick Nuyens (BEL/RAB) 2h01:37.
152. Wouter Weylandt (BEL/QST) 2h02:14.
153. Andreas Stauff (GER/QST) 2h02:18.
154. Benat Intxausti (ESP/EUS) 2h02:51.
155. Robert Forster (GER/MRM) 2h03:18.
156. Angelo Furlan (ITA/LAM) 2h04:22.
157. Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA/LIQ) 2h05:40.
158. Michel Kreder (NED/GRM) 2h05:53.
159. Matthew Goss (AUS/THR) 2h06:15.
160. Johnnie Walker (AUS/FOT) 2h06:59.
161. Mark Cavendish (IDM/THR) 2h08:50.
162. Jorge Montenegro (ARG/ACA) 2h10:25.
163. Juan José Haedo (ARG/SAX) 2h10:38.
164. Denis Galimzyanov (RUS/KAT) 2h11:24.
165. Matthew Wilson (AUS/GRM) 2h11:36.
166. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS/KAT) 2h11:56.
167. Theo Bos (NED/CTT) 2h12:40.
168. Dominik Klemme (GER/SAX) 2h14:40.
169. Lars Bak (DEN/THR) 2h17:28.
170. Fabian Cancellara (SWI/SAX) 2h18:14.
171. Valentin Iglinskiy (KAZ/AST) 2h23:14.
172. Arnaud Labbe (FRA/COF) 2h25:06.

Article: AFP
Photo: Corvos