The 23-year-old from Britain, Mark Cavendish, has recently been in the news for winning four stages at the Tour de France. With his win on Friday, the Team Columbia rider secured the spot of “ most successful British rider in a single tour.” Cavendish was originally a track cyclist, making his debut in the Moscow 2004 World Cup for Great Britain. He began his professional road racing cyclist career in 2007, attaining a notable win at the Grote Scheldeprijs and sealing his reputation as a sprinter. His other major accomplishments this year include two stage victories at the Giro d’Italia in May, another win at Grote Scheldeprijs and the title of World Champion in Madison. Cavendish plans to return to the track to resume training for the Olympic games in Beijing, which will be his main priority this season.

Kurt-Asle Arvesen of Norway won stage 11, while Cadel Evans remains in possession of the yellow jersey.

Leonardo Piepollo won stage 10 today in the second day of climbing for the cyclers.

Riccardo Ricco, the 24-year-old from Italy, wins stage 9 to claim his second stage in the tour so far.

Stage 5 winner: Mark Cavendish

Stage 6 winner: Riccardo Ricco

Stage 7 winner: Luis Sanchez

Stage 8 winner: Mark Cavendish

Stage 1 winner: Alejandro Valverde

Stage 2 winner: Thor Hushovd
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Stage 3 winner: Samuel Dumoulin

Stage 4 winner: Stefan Schumacher

The World’s largest cycle race, Tour de France is set to begin on July 5th and will continue on until July 27th. The 21-stage race spans a total of about 3500 kilometers, covering mostly French territory and even passing into neighboring countries. About 20 to 22 teams of nine riders each are given entry by invitation into the race. The time taken to complete each stage is recorded and the combined result of these stages determines the winner. Tour de France is one of the three major cycle races in the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) calendar, which also includes, Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) and Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain), the latter two of which are less well known outside of Europe. The record for most wins in the race is held by Lance Armstrong of U.S.A, perhaps better known for his drug allegations for which he was later exonerated, he has won the race seven consecutive times. The current titleholder is Alberto Contador of Spain.