Cycling: Cavendish wins 18th stage

Wiggins pulled at front for Cavendish in the closing 1.5 km before peeling off and letting teammate Hagen take over

BRIVE-LA-GAILLARDE: British sprint king Mark Cavendish produced a stunning finish to claim victory on the 18th stage of the Tour de France, a 226-km ride between Blagnac and Brive-La-Gaillarde. Sky teammate and compatriot Bradley Wiggins came over the finish line seconds later with his two minutes and five-second overall lead on British teammate Chris Froome intact. Wiggins, who is set to become Britain’s first winner of the world’s biggest bike race on Sunday, played a starring role for his Sky teammate in what was a technical but thrilling finale into Brive. Wiggins pulled at the front for Cavendish in the closing 1.5 km before peeling off and letting teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen take over the job of leading the chase.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2012.