Cavendish surges to stage 11 win

Cavendish (left) avenges Tuesday's defeat by Greipel (third from left) Britain's Mark Cavendish defied heavy rain to take the points classification leader's green jersey with victory in the 11th stage of the Tour de France.

Cavendish, beaten into second in a sprint by Andre Greipel on Tuesday, reversed the roles to move 16 points clear in the race for the maillot vert.

It was his third victory of this year's Tour and his 18th in total, only four behind American Lance Armstrong.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler retained his overall race leader's yellow jersey.

Cavendish now has 251 points in the battle for the green jersey, also known as the Sprint Classification, with Jose Joaquin Rojas second on 235, Gilbert third on 231 and Greipel fourth on 164.

However, opportunities for the sprinters are likely to be limited in the coming days as the Tour heads for the Pyrenees, with Thursday's 12th stage a 211km run from Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden.

STAGE 11 RESULT:

1. Mark Cavendish (GB/HTC - Highroad) 3 hours 46 minutes 07 seconds

2. Andre Greipel (Ger/Omega Pharma - Lotto) same time

3. Tyler Farrar (US/Garmin)

4. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus/Katusha)

5. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Team Sky)

6. Romain Feillu (Fr/Vacansoleil)

7. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Sp/Movistar)

8. Sebastien Turgot (Fr/Europcar)

9. Francisco Ventoso (Sp/Movistar)

10. William Bonnet (Fr/FDJ)

OVERALL STANDINGS:

1. Thomas Voeckler (Fr/Europcar) 45 hrs 52 mins 39 secs"

2. Luis Leon Sanchez (Sp/Rabobank) +1:49"

3. Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) +2:26"

4. Frank Schleck (Lux/Leopard) +2:29"

5. Andy Schleck (Lux/Leopard) +2:37"

6. Tony Martin (Ger/HTC - Highroad) +2:38"

7. Peter Velits (Slv/HTC - Highroad) same time

8. Andreas Kloeden (Ger/RadioShack) +2:43"

9. Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto) +2:55"

10. Jakob Fuglsang (Den/Leopard) +3:08"

POINTS STANDINGS:

1. Mark Cavendish (GB/HTC - Highroad) 251

2. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spain/Movistar) 235

3. Philippe Gilbert (Bel/Omega Pharma - Lotto) 231

4. Andre Greipel (Ger/Omega Pharma - Lotto) 164

5. Thor Hushovd (Nor/Garmin) 163

6. Romain Feillu (Fr/Vacansoleil) 141

7. Cadel Evans (Aus/BMC Racing) 135

8. Tyler Farrar (US/Garmin) 106

9. Sebastien Hinault (Fr/AG2R) 82

10. Denis Galimzyanov (Rus/Katusha) 81

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