FOUGERES, France -- British rider Mark Cavendish won the sun-soaked seventh stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish on Friday, while compatriot Chris Froome retained the overall lead as he bids to win the race for a second time.
This time there was no crash near the finish, like the one on Thursday's sixth stage that cost German rider Tony Martin a broken collarbone, forcing him to withdraw while wearing the race leader's yellow jersey.
Cavendish, seeking his first Tour stage win since 2013 after crashing out of last year's race, timed his attack to perfection to catch German sprinter Andre Greipel right near the line to clinch his 26th career Tour stage win.
Slovak Peter Sagan was third.
It was a fitting win for Cavendish, who is Martin's teammate on the Etixx-Quick Step team.
