• Vuelta a Espana

Cavendish storms to second stage win

Mark Cavendish bunnyhopped over the line © Getty Images

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Mark Cavendish secured back-to-back wins in the Vuelta a Espana with a power sprint in Burgos.

The Manx Missile secured his first Vuelta success on Thursday with an easy success but had to work far harder in Stage 13.

For the second day, he was led out by Matt Goss who put him in a position to strike by dashing through to the front of the race at the final corner. Thor Hushovd had Cavendish's wheel but the HTC-Columbia man pulled out two lengths once leaping off Goss' wheel and asserted his authority by bunnyhopping over the finish line.

"I have an incredible team," he told Eurosport. "We lost Hayden Roulston early on today which was a big engine for the final kilometres, so we had to sit on the edge of the peloton."

Cavendish once again heaped praise on his team and he felt they caught their rivals napping in the planning stage.

He said: "We did our homework and knew the final corner was wide. Other guys thought it was sharp and braked so we swept through fast. Matt Goss dive-bombed down the inside and he was incredible. I struggled to keep hold of his wheel he was going so fast and hopefully he can get a stage.

"I have always said it is better to have a star team than a team of stars. Every rider in the team wants to win, they are not about money. They care about it, know the history of the sport and want to win. I am so proud to be a part of this team."

There was no change in the general classification, with Igor Anton retaining his red jersey.

Stage 13 Result
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team HTC-Columbia 4:50:18
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervélo Test Team
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
4 Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) FDJ
5 Manuel Cardoso (Por) Footon-Servetto
6 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Transitions
7 Denis Galimzyanov (Rus) Team Katusha
8 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
9 Theo Bos (Ned) Cervélo Test Team
10 Johnnie Walker (Aus) Footon-Servetto

General Classification
1 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:45
3 Xavier Tondo (Spa) Cervélo Test Team 0:01:04
4 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:01:17
5 Ezequiel Mosquera (Spa) Xacobeo Galicia 0:01:29
6 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:57
7 Ruben Plaza (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:07
8 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 0:02:13
9 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Ag2R-La Mondiale 0:02:30
10 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank

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