Mark Cavendish–the British sprinter known as The Manx Missle–won his fifth stage of the 2009 Tour de France today on a 111-mile stage from Bourgoin-Jallieu to Aubenas that seemed tailor-made for a breakaway. Lance Armstrong held his third-place slot but gained four seconds on Alberto Contador, who is leading the race, and second-placed Andy Schleck.

Tomorrow promises to be an epic climbing stage as the race takes on the brutal climb to the summit of the Mont Ventoux. Look for Bradley Wiggins of Boulder’s Garmin-Slipstream squad to lay down some attacks as he attempts to knock Armstrong off the podium.

Geoff Van Dyke
Geoff Van Dyke
Geoff Van Dyke was the magazine’s editorial director from 2012 to 2024. He is currently a Denver-based writer and editor.