Tour de France 2016: Mark Cavendish leaves sprint rivals in his wake

Mark Cavendish took his fourth victory of this year’s Tour de France after winning another frantic dash for the line Saturday on the 14th stage into Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux

The British fast man has dominated the bunch sprints in this year’s Tour and made no mistake to edge Alexander Kristoff of Norway and green jersey holder Peter Sagan.

After Thursday’s dramatic finish on the Mont Ventoux and yesterday’s individual time trial, this was a day for race leader Chris Froome to sit quietly in the peloton and avoid crashes.

Chris Froome rides in the yellow Jersey for Team Sky during the 14th stage from Montelimar to Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux.

He duly completed that task to remain one minute 47 seconds ahead of Dutchman Bauke Mollema, with fellow Briton Adam Yates in third overall.

Read: Froome forced to run up mountain climb

Sunday will see the overall contenders severely tested over 160km from Bourg-en-Bresse to Culoz with two ascents of the Grand Colombier – a feared mountain pass in the Jura Massif.

Cavendish is likely to have no more stage win opportunities until the race finale in Paris next Sunday on the Champs Elysees and took his latest chance in ruthless style.

Coming off the wheel of German rival Marcel Kittel, once the Manxman hit the front the result was never in real doubt.

Kittel threw up his arms in disgust as Cavendish cut in front of him, but his protests were in vain, well beaten again with fellow German Andre Greipel finishing just behind him in sixth.

“I was in the inside, I was well positioned. I saw Cavendish passing me and he swerved to the right and I needed to brake to avoid collision. It’s not up to me to decide if he made a mistake,” said a disgruntled Kittel.

The 31-year-old Cavendish took a different view: “When I saw Marcel Kittel taking the lead with only four guys two kilometers before the end, I understood it would kill him ultimately,” he told the official Tour website.

“I just had to wait for him to lose some speed,” he added.

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A four-man group compromised the breakaway action on the 208.5km from Montelimar and had whittled down to two men, Jerome Roy (FDJ) and Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling), as the peloton sped up.

The brave pair were caught just over 3km from the finish and it left the sprinters and their teams to jostle for position with Dimension Data’s Cavendish top of the pile again, his 30th stage win on the Tour de France.

Read: Cavendish in yellow after taking first stage

Just the 3,500 kilometers to negotiate over the next three weeks for the riders competing in this year"s Tour de France ...

The favorite to win the 2016 race is Team Sky's Chris Froome, who is pictured at the back.

Froome is pictured powering to victory on stage 15 of the 2013 Tour de France on the climb to the Mont Ventoux summit. He is race favorite this year.

Colombia's Nairo Quintana and last year's yellow jersey winner Froome are expected to battle it out again for race honors in this year's Tour de France.

The rugged and unforgiving landscape on Mont Ventoux has seen it nicknamed the "Bald Mountain" with its slopes of just rock and scree.

Tour organizers are also promising to tackle motorized doping with thermal imaging techniques and other unspecified measures as they try to keep the race clean.

Mark Cavendish wins the stage on the Champs Elysees in 2012, his fourth straight in the French capital. He is hoping to wear yellow for the first time by taking the first stage in Normandy.

Andre Greipel (right) wins the second stage of the 2015 Tour ahead of Peter Sagan (center) and Fabian Cancellara (left). Greipel and Sagan will again be battling it out for the green jersey.

The powerful Marcel Kittel of Germany enjoyed a superb 2014 with victories in the Tour de France and here on the second stage of the Giro d'Italia. The German is another contender for green.

Alberto Contador will be bidding for his third victory in the Tour de France.

Mass pile ups in the peloton are an occupational hazard of a professional cyclist's life -- but it still hurts.

Amid the pain, there is beauty as well for the riders to appreciate as they battle it out over 21 stages in cycling's greatest race.

Over enthusiastic fans can pose a risk to riders and here a Colombian supporter is pulled aside by a gendarme during the 2015 race won by Froome.

A spectator takes a photo of the Tommy Simpson memorial on Mont Ventoux. British cyclist Simpson died on the mountain during the 1967 Tour de France.

Daniel Teklehaimanot of Eritrea and MTN-Qhubeka made history when he became the first African to hold the polka dot jersey for best climber during the 2015 Tour. He is targeting stage wins this year.

Tour organizers have stepped up security and the police presence ahead of this year's race with the promise to deploy over 23,000 officers, including members of the French Special Forces, on the route.

Tour de France race director, Christian Prudhomme, announces that next year's Tour will start in Dusseldorf in Germany. The 2016 edition largely stays in France with a brief visit to the principality of Andorra and also Spain and Switzerland.

Tour de France: Cycling's greatest race

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