Tour de France: Cavendish makes it four

(PASCAL PAVANI/AFP/Getty Images)

The phenomenal Mark Cavendish took the green jersey after he once again blazed a trail to glory at the Tour de France with victory in stage 11 today - his fourth triumph in 2009.

It was the 24-year-old's eighth Tour stage win, equalling his British record haul from 2008 and bringing him level with Barry Hoban at the top of the British rankings.

It was a familiar sight in the 96th edition of cycling's most prestigious race, as Team Columbia-HTC set up Cavendish perfectly for a sprint to the line, with Tyler Farrar second and Yauheni Hutarovich third on the 192-kilometre route from Vatan to Saint-Fargeau.

Cavendish regained the points leader's green jersey as Norway's Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) finished fifth.

Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2R) retained the race leader's yellow jersey, while Alberto Contador is six seconds behind with Lance Armstrong two seconds further back.