On Stage 6, riders will spend more time descending than ascending, and roughly 30 kilometers of flat land before the finish should give team leadout trains plenty of time to solidify.
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Kittel got his own back on Tuesday’s fourth stage when Cavendish could finish only eighth but the Briton proved in Montauban he’s the fast man to beat at this Tour.
On Thursday’s 190.5km sixth stage from Arpajon-sur-Cere to Montauban, Cavendish timed his burst for the line to perfection to streak past Marcel Kittel and then hold off a late surge by the German.
Stage 5 features a 77-km stage that takes the riders up the Mortirolo climb, the cima coppi of the 2016 Giro Rosa. Those who wish to stream the stage will need a subscription to NBC Sports Gold.
The Spanish Tinkoff rider finished five minutes, 40 seconds behind stage victor and general classification leader Greg Van Avermaet. “I lost less time than I expected”, Contador said.
Racing for Fortuneo-Vital Concept, the New Zealand-born, Leicester-raised rider was 10th on the first stage to Utah Beach and ninth on day three in Angers – as Cavendish took victory on both days.
With temperature as high as 36 degrees (98 F), the breakaway riders’ lead stated to decrease after the first intermediate sprint when Frenchman Bryan Coquard topped rivals Michael Matthews, Peter Sagan and Kittel in their battle for the best sprinter’s green jersey. Sagan now leads Cavendish by four points and Kittel by eight.
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Having moved to the road, in 2014 he won a stage of the Tour de l’Avenir – a proven testing ground for young talent – and had two seventh placed finishes in the Tour of Britain before going pro for the 2015 season.
