MARK Cavendish secured his third win of this year’s Vuelta a Espana on Thursday afternoon, leaving him on the verge of winning his first points jersey in one of the grand tours.
The Manxman was led out perfectly by his HTC Columbia team-mate Matt Goss and outsprinted JJ Huedo, M. Cardoso and rival Tyler Farrar at the end of the 148.9km stage from Valladolid to Salamanca.
The win leaves Cav 32 points clear of Farrar in the race for the green jersey with just three stages left.
Today (Friday) is the longest stage of the tour, a gruelling 231.2km from Piedrahita to Toledo, but the Manx Missile has hinted that another one of his trademark finishes is possible.
Saturday’s stage is a mountainous one not suited to sprinters but Sunday’s finale in Madrid is expected to produce another grandstand finish similar to that which Cav won so empathically in the Champs Elysees just two months ago in the Tour de France. IOMToday
