MARK Cavendish claimed the 18th Tour de France stage win of his career yesterday.  

It is his third win of the 2011 race and a victory which also earned him the lead in the points competition.

The HTC-Highroad sprinter was the fastest in stage 11 from Blaye-les-Mines to Lavaur, out-sprinting André Greipel and Tyler Farrar to take his seventh victory of the 2011 season.

With 28 Grand Tour stage wins under his belt Cavendish said he was delighted to have the green jersey of points leader again.

He said: "It's incredible to have the green jersey - it's the most beautiful jersey in the world.

"I have to thank my teammates for the work they did today, even the guys who are in the top 10 overall gave it 100 per cent and that shows what a great team we are.

"There are two more bunch sprints in this year's race one in Montpellier and the other in Paris and I want to try to win both of them.

"It's not easy fighting for the green jersey but I'm going to keep going and try to keep hold of it right through to the end."

The HTC-Highroad men's squad now has a total of forty-four wins this season.