Cavendish wins stage five

The HTC sprinter looked out of contention on the closing straight of the 164.5km stage from Carhaix to Cap Frehel in Brittany but a late surge saw Cavendish power past Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and green jersey Jose Rojas (Movistar) to take the 16th Tour victory of his career.

Earlier in the stage, reigning champion Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) and GC rival Robert Gesink (Rabobank) were both involved in separate incidents in the peloton - although both riders recovered to finish safely in the peloton.

But the news was less good for Slovenia's Janez Brajkovic, the RadioShack team leader, who was forced out of the race after suffering a heavy fall 92km from the finish.

Former Tour green jersey winner Tom Boonen also crashed during a nervous day through the hilly Breton countryside. Bloodied and bruised, the Belgian finished the stage alongside Quick Step team-mate Addy Engels more than 13 minutes off the pace.

A group of four riders - three Frenchman and a Spaniard - broke away soon after an edgy start and quickly built up a lead of five minutes over the pursuing peloton

The Tour continues on Thursday with the race's longest stage - a 227km hilly trek from Dinan to Lisieux.