Andre Greipel pounced late for the second successive day to claim the fifth stage of the Tour de France, with Fabian Cancellera holding onto the leader's yellow jersey
Lotto rider Greipel had claimed his first win of this year’s race on Wednesday when he dominated a small bunch sprint devoid of rival Mark Cavendish after the Briton suffered a crash inside the final 3km.
Stage Five winner, Andre Greipel celebrates on the finish line. PIC/AFP
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This time, Cavendish was in the mix but after a tough, slightly uphill finish that was arguably more suited to his rivals the Team Sky fast man could only finish fifth.
Greipel, taking his third win of the race after his maiden win ahead of Cavendish last year, beat Australia’s Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) at the end of the 196km ride with Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo of Saxo Bank in third.
Kittel abandons Tour
Meanwhile, Germany sprint specialist Marcel Kittel became the fourth rider to quit the Tour de France
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US cyclists caught up in Armstrong case
Former teammates of Lance Armstrong, who has been charged with doping offences, have played down a report claiming they testified against the seven-times Tour de France champion and would receive six-month bans after admitting doping.
According to a report in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Americans George Hincapie (BMC), Levi Leipheimer (Omega Pharma), Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie (both Garmin) have confessed to doping.
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