MARSEILLE, France — British sprinter Mark Cavendish won the fifth stage of the Tour de France in a sprint finish on Wednesday and Australian veteran Simon Gerrans kept the yellow jersey.
Sprinters jostled for position on the final straight, but Cavendish held off a challenge from Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen.
The 142-mile route featured some small climbs but was otherwise flat, starting from the beach resort of Cagnes-sur-Mer and finishing in the southern sea port of Marseille.
The pack was rolling along at a slow pace until a crash toward the end brought down 15-to-20 riders and another spill unseated about a dozen near the line.
