Stage 18

The road

At the start

Flat to Bordeaux, and nerves

Andy Schleck took the Tourmalet and not one of the eight seconds he needs; Contador still leads by eight, with Samuel Sánchez third at 3:32 and Menchov fourth at 3:53. Today is 190 kilometres of the flat Landes into Bordeaux, the Tour's most-visited city outside Paris, ending on a long straight quayside built for a bunch sprint. The two men at the top will spend it hiding at the front, thinking about tomorrow.

How it was won

1. 150 km to go

   Schleck at the doctor's car

   With fifty kilometres to go the second-placed rider spends a long time alongside the race doctor and waves the television motorbike away. Saddle sores, on the eve of a 52-kilometre time trial he needs to win by eight seconds.

2. 2At the line

   Cavendish's fourth

   Sky lead into the last kilometre for Boasson Hagen and get swamped; Hushovd comes onto Cavendish's wheel and past him and then has nothing left. Cavendish goes and wins Bordeaux by five bike lengths from Dean and Petacchi, and Petacchi takes the green jersey back anyway.

The result