Mark Cavendish has won today's (Thursday) stage of the Tour de France after a nail-biting finish.

The mostly downhill stage 11 was a sprinter's dream after the days of battling through the Alps

Seven kilometres out from the finish Team HTC-Columbia's lead-out train swung into action to set-up the 'Manx missile' for the big finish, finally reeling in a break-away by Sylvain Chavanel and Popovic.

The other teams weren't in the mood to let Cavendish have it all his way with the lead-out teams constantly scrapping for the advantage.

But in the final few hundred metres HTC-Columbia's discipline proved decisive, Mark Renshaw setting Cavendish up for a perfect blast at the line despite Julian Dean's best efforts.

Three wins in this tour bring Cav's total haul to 13 overall.