Cavendish wins Stage 5 of Tour de France

CAP FREHEL, France -- Mark Cavendish of Britain won a windy and crash-marred fifth stage of the Tour de France in a mass sprint Wednesday, while Thor Hushovd of Norway kept the leader's yellow jersey.

Defending champion Alberto Contador fell in a crash and RadioShack rider Janez Brajkovic broke his collarbone and pulled out of the race during the 102-mile stage from Carhaix to Cap Frehel on the English Channel.

Cavendish, a sprint specialist, collected his 16th career Tour stage victory and his first this year by speeding past Philippe Gilbert of Belgium -- who finished second -- and Jose Joaquin Rojas in third.

"I am really happy. It was a difficult finish," said Cavendish, who rides with the HTC-Highroad team. "I put every thing into it . . . If we win, it's not because we're lucky, it's because we're good."

But Gilbert succeeded in making him work hard in the sprint.

"Normally, I try to win by a little-ish margin, just to try and save energy," Cavendish said. "Today, I had to give everything I had. He's taken a lot out of me, so I'll take a couple of days to recover." The top standings didn't change because the vast majority of riders crossed in a pack right behind the sprinters. Hushovd kept his one-second lead over Cadel Evans of Australia in second. Frank Schleck of Luxembourg is third overall, 4 seconds back.

Schleck's younger brother Andy -- the Tour runner-up for the last two years -- is 10th, 12 seconds behind. Contador, who lost time by getting caught up in a crash in Stage 1, is 39th overall, 1:42 behind Hushovd.

"It was very difficult day, with a lot of tension," said Contador, who had scrapes on his right shoulder, elbow and knee. He said he took "a little knock" while braking to avoid one crash, then had his own a few miles later.

"When I got back going, 5 kilometers later, my chain came off -- so I fell," Contador told French TV, which showed images of him throwing his bike on the roadside at the time. "What matters is, I was able to get back up."