SAINT-QUENTIN, France (AP) — Andre Greipel of Germany led a frenzied bunch sprint to the fifth stage finish line for his second straight Tour de France stage win on Thursday.
Fabian Cancellara retained the yellow jersey for a sixth straight day.
The mostly flat 121-mile trek from Rouen to Saint-Quentin was almost tailor-made for sprinters except for a slight uphill near the end.
The pack overtook three breakaway riders near the finish line. Greipel wheeled out in front a split-second ahead of Matt Goss of Australia, who was second. Mark Cavendish was fourth.
The top standings didn’t change: Bradley Wiggins, the leader of Cavendish’s Team Sky, was second overall, seven seconds behind the Swiss leader. Defending champion Cadel Evans of Australia was 17 seconds off the pace in seventh.
