Greipel edges Cavendish for 10th stage

CARMAUX, France -- German sprinter Andre Greipel won the 10th stage of the Tour de France Tuesday, beating former teammate Mark Cavendish by a wheel's length in a dash to the line.

France's Thomas Voeckler kept the yellow jersey after nestling safely in the main pack for most of the 98-mile route from Aurillac to Carmaux.

Defending champion Alberto Contador and his main rivals -- Luxembourg's Andy Schleck and Australia's Cadel Evans -- all finished without losing any time to one another. Contador has a sore right knee.

"I'm feeling better and better," he said. "At the beginning of the stage, I wasn't sure what to think, but as the stage progressed, my knee was feeling less sore."

Schleck, runner-up to Contador in the last two Tours, remains 1:30 ahead of the Spaniard in the overall standings, and 11 seconds behind Evans, a two-time Tour runner-up.

Voeckler, who also wore the yellow jersey in 2004, was near the front of the pack as the sprint began and was happy to get to the line without incident. The first nine stages of the race were marred by crashes and injuries.

"The yellow jersey comes with a lot of tension, a lot of stress," Voeckler said. "But in terms of the fans, it's a fabulous thing."

Cavendish seemed to have sealed his third stage victory of this year's Tour when he turned into the final straightaway. But Greipel stormed past him in the last 20 yards.

"I didn't commit early enough, I didn't kick," Cavendish said. "I kind of rolled round the last corner . . . Greipel just came past me and beat me."

Greipel, who rides for the Omega Pharma-Lotto team, looked tearful on the podium as he celebrated.

"It's the moment I've been waiting for all year," he said. "It's the most beautiful race in the world and the most famous. To win here is sensational."

Jose Joaquin Rojas of Spain was third.