Despite Mark Cavendish's glorious 17th career stage win on Stage 7, it was his HTC-Highroad team-mate Tony Martin who earns the plaudits as IG Markets Rider of the Day. The Independent's William Fotheringham explains why.
"Tony Martin gets it for his superb work in the last kilometre and a half, bringing Mark Cavendish, Matt Goss and Mark Renshaw exactly to where Cav and his team-mates needed to be for a superb bunch sprint win, in the same place where he took his first ever Tour win.
"He is one of the few potential GC riders who is also prepared to take part in leadout duties at the Tour."
Judge: William Fotheringham (The Independent)
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IG Markets Pro Cycling Index Stats of the day:
Mark Cavendish won his first stage at Chateauroux 3 years ago. Today’s stage is his 17th putting him eighth equal on the all-time list with Jean Alavoine.
Cavendish needs two more stage wins to move up to seventh and join Francois Faber, a Luxemburger who was the first foreigner to win the Tour de France in 1909.
Bradley Wiggins's bad luck means he has only finished the tour three times.
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