Stage 6: Oberriet - Bad Zurzach 177km
Tour de Suisse 6: Cavendish beats Freire
Columbia-Highroad's Mark Cavendish continued his winning ways in Switzerland Thursday, June 18, during the 2009 Tour de Suisse. (DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/Getty Images)
British cycling star Mark Cavendish (Columbia) won the 178km Stage 6 of the 2009 Tour of Switzerland from Oberriet to Bad Zurzach Thursday, his second stage of the event.
The 24-year-old Isle of Man born cyclist - winner of four stages in last year's Tour de France - won in a sprint finish ahead of Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank).
Cavendish had already won Monday's stage from Davos to Lumino.
"It may have appeared easy but it wasn't that evident to me," Cavendish said afterwards. "We had to cope with a second category climb early in the stage and then a strong headwind.
"As only two teams (Columbia and Saxo Bank) have thusfar contested the finishes, the climaxes to the stages have become nervy affairs. I owe a lot to my teammate George Hincapie who saved me today."
Cavendish reinforced his plans for the upcoming Tour de France.
"I am here to prepare for the Tour de France," he added. "There is no better exercise than to climb the mountains in order to achieve full competitive fitness.
"Therefore I will stay and fight it out to the end of the race," added Cavendish, who faces a tough final three stages with the next two finishing with climbs and then a 38km time-trial on the final stage Sunday.
The last-moment assault towards the finish was launched by Thor Hushovd (Cervelo), but the Norwegian was overhauled by his rivals. Third on the day was Italian Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre).
Slovenia's Tadej Valjavec (AG2R) retained the overall lead in what is the last major cycling event before the Tour de France starts on July 4.
Swiss favourite and twice world time-trial champion Fabian Cancellara (Saxo-Bank), second overall, reduced the margin behind Valjavec to just 9 seconds, setting him up for the race against the clock on Sunday's final day in the Swiss capital, Berne.
On Friday the racers embark on a 204 km ride from Bad Zurzach to Vallorbe.
© 2009 AFP & BikeRadar
For a complete report, visit Cyclingnews.com.
STAGE 6 RESULTS
| 1 | Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - Highroad | 4:18:26 | |
| 2 | Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank | ||
| 3 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C. | ||
| 4 | Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervélo TestTeam | ||
| 5 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence-Lotto | ||
| 6 | Matti Breschel (Den) Team Saxo Bank | ||
| 7 | Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | ||
| 8 | Gerald Ciolek (Ger) Team Milram | ||
| 9 | Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne | ||
| 10 | Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step |
General classification after Stage 6
| 1 | Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale | 23:10:27 | |
| 2 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank | 0:00:09 | |
| 3 | Olivier Zaugg (Swi) Liquigas | 0:00:14 | |
| 4 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas | 0:00:42 | |
| 5 | Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana | 0:00:45 | |
| 6 | Tony Martin (Ger) Team Columbia - Highroad | 0:00:54 | |
| 7 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team Columbia - Highroad | 0:00:55 | |
| 8 | Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank | 0:00:56 | |
| 9 | Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:01:01 | |
| 10 | Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | 0:01:02 |
