A largely uneventful – verging on dull – fifth stage of the Tour de France followed a flat 177km run from the base of the Alps to Saint-Vulbas, a small village near Lyon, but it was livened up by perhaps only two events.
First and foremost, there were the events of the closing sprint as Mark Cavendish dashed to that record-breaking 35th Tour stage victory he and his Astana Qazaqstan team have fought towards over the past two seasons.
