Das Team » e. Judge said his message total also was in the triple

MARSEILLE, France -- Mark Cavendish will never be the greatest Tour de France rider, because he will never win the race five times like Eddy Merkcx of Belgium and Frenchman Bernard Hinault. Still, the sprinter with thighs like thick hams could outdo both of those legends -- by winning more stages than them at cyclings premier race. By Cavendishs warp-speed standards, his 24th stage win on Wednesday was like taking candy from a baby. The teammates who led Cavendish to the finish, sucking him along in their wheels, building up his speed, were toiling like clockwork. Stamping on his pedals, head down, thighs pumping like pistons, Cavendish then whooshed off alone for the last 150 metres (yards), leaving everyone else in his wake. Cavendish was carrying so much momentum and this win in Marseille, Frances second-largest city, was so comfortable that he was able to sit up in the saddle and make a hand motion like cracking a whip as he crossed the line. One more stage win will tie Cavendish with Andre Leducq, the Frenchman who got 25 stage wins in the 1920s and 1930s, putting him third on the all-time list. Beyond Leducq is Hinault, who notched up 28 wins in the 1970s and 80s. Merckxs monument is 34, won from 1969 to 1975. Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain also won five Tours, but didnt win as many stages as Hinault and Merckx. Anquetil won 16; Indurain got 12. All seven of Lance Armstrong Tour wins were stripped from him for doping. This 100th Tour is the first since Armstrongs fall last year. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal was the top Canadian in the fifth stage, finishing 103rd. Hesjedal, who confirmed Wednesday that hes racing with a broken rib, is 14th in the overall classification, 17 seconds behind Gerrans. Quebec Citys David Veilleux is 143rd, 25 minutes and 28 seconds off the pace, while Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is 169th, 33:23 off the pace. Cavendish makes out that he isnt fixated on Hinault or Merckxs numbers. He notes that for many riders, winning just one stage at the 110-year-old Tour -- let alone the 11 he needs to overhaul Merckx -- is a career-defining feat. "You have to show the Tour de France the respect it deserves," he said. But then Cavendish isnt any other rider. Before this edition, he collected on average nearly five wins at every Tour since 2008. In 2009, he got six. He won the last four sprint finishes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, where he is unbeaten since 2009. While Merckxs record is still a way off, Hinault and most certainly Leducq look within Cavendishs grasp. "Obviously I aim to win multiple stages each year. But to set any goals, any number ... it does one of two things: It sets you up to fail for something or it puts like a mark on what you want to achieve and it can kind of stop you trying to move forward," he said. Were Cavendish to overtake Hinault, it wouldnt mean he is a better overall rider than the famously bad-tempered "Badger," who was strong on every terrain. But in a sprint, Cavendish has no equal, at least in this generation. Although Cavendish downplays the chase for stage-win milestones, he is certainly very aware of them. The Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, says that more than a year ago, at the Tour of Oman, he quietly tested Cavendishs knowledge of Tour de France history and was delighted when he rattled off the names of Andre Darrigade, who won 22 stages in the 1950s and 60s, as well as Leducq, Hinault, Merckx and their respective totals. "He is aware of what does it take ... to become No. 1 on the list of most winning riders ever," confirmed Rolf Aldag, one of the managers of Cavendishs Omega Pharma-Quick Step team. "He has a chance to make history," he said. "Its a goal, its a target." Cavendish would be the first to note that, unlike Merckx, he doesnt win alone. His teammates worked tirelessly to manoeuvre him into place in Marseille. They helped reel in breakaway riders who scooted off ahead and then delivered him like express mail to within sight of the line. Omegas Italian rider, Matteo Trentin, surged to the front and pedalled as hard as he could up to and around the final left-hand bend, pulling Gert Steegmans and Cavendish behind him. Exhausted, Trentin then made way for Steegmans, who led Cavendish at top speed to the signboard marking 150 metres to go. From there, the man known as the "Manx Missile," because he comes from the Isle of Man, did the rest. "Perfect, man, perfect," Trentin said. "The basic plan never changes," Aldag said. "The basic plan is always we believe hes the fastest sprinter and we do everything that needs to be done to try to make him win." "I didnt do anything," Cavendish said. "Gert went with such speed that I could accelerate off his wheel and just carried on the speed he delivered me at." Stage 6 on Thursday -- 176.5 kilometres (110 miles) from Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier -- should also suit Cavendish, because it is flat. With his short, muscular frame, he doesnt like steep climbs. Simon Gerrans of Australia will again wear the yellow jersey, after keeping the race lead on Wednesdays bumpy 228.5-kilometre (142-mile) trek from the beach resort of Cagnes-sur-Mer. NFL Jerseys China . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. NFL Jerseys Cheap . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. http://www.nfljerseyschina.net/ . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Jerseys Cheap . JOHNS, N. Jerseys NFL Wholesale . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. NEW YORK -- The Yankees have gone from perennial to millennials.With a postseason berth a longshot for a team accustomed to constant contention, New Yorks pivot to youth quickened Sunday. A 22-year-old pitcher was surrounded by a catcher and third baseman of 23, first baseman and right fielder of 24, and second baseman, shortstop and left fielder of 26.Not since the final day of the 1967 season had New Yorks lineup card included that many players yet to turn 27.Jacoby was an old man today, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, a reference to 32-year-old center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, the elder in his starting lineup.There will be growing pains for the Baby Bombers, as evidenced by the Tampa Bay Rays 12-3 victory.Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer off Luis Severino, and Evan Longoria added a three-run double against reliever Luis Cessa to cap a six-run fourth inning that put the Rays ahead 8-1. Severino (1-8) was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 10 minutes after the final out.Its frustrating to get sent up and down, but to be really successful at this level, you have to have a lot of mental toughness, and this is part of it, Girardi said. You have to able to fight through adversity.New Yorks four-game winning streak was stopped and the Yankees (60-57) dropped 4 1/2 games back for the ALs second wild card, failing in their attempt to move five games over .500 for the first time this season.On Saturday, Aaron Judge and Tyler Austin, both 24, became the first teammates to hit home runs in their first big league at-bats in the same game, a feat that led the Hall of Fame to request their bats.On another hot and steamy afternoon, Judge had an opposite-field homer over the right-field scoreboard in the third inning off Jake Odorizzi (7-5). Judge joined Joe Lefebvre (May 22-23, 1980) as the only players to homer for the Yankees in their first two big league games. One inning later, 23-year-old Gary Sanchez hit his second home run since he was brought up on Aug. 3.Its a lot of fun to watch these guys come up and have the little bit of success theyve had early on these first couple of days, said Brett Gardner, who missed his second straight game due to a swollen right ankle.After honoring reliever Mariano Rivera in a pregame ceremony to unveil his Monument Park plaque, New York startted rookies in the 6-through-9 slots of its batting order.dddddddddddd The lineups average age 26 years, 165 days was down from 31 years, 303 days from this seasons opener.Theyve always kind of been a veteran ballclub, Rays manager Kevin Cash said, but right now theyre young. So were still learning a lot of things about them.Severino allowed seven runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings, leaving him with a 7.19 ERA. The Yankees think he can again become a consistent starter and do not intend to shift him to the bullpen.He told me that I had to work on my changeup, the right-hander said after meeting with Girardi.Severino was 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA as a rookie in the final two months of last season. Now he is the first Yankee to lose six straight starts since Kevin Brown in 2004-05.I think his slider is better than it was last year, Girardi said, but they find your weaknesses very quickly at this level because of all the video and they see you.Judge and Austin are in the position now that Severino was last summer. Austin received 150-something text messages after Saturdays game. Judge said his message total also was in the triple digits, one of them from the family in Alaska that hosted him during summer ball five years ago.I dont think you can expect a homer every day. I think that would be a record, Girardi said, laughing. It seems like every time he hits the ball in the air, people get excited.LEFT BEHINDTwo days after his final game with the Yankees, Alex Rodriguezs gear and personal belongings were still in his locker along with his nameplate and No. 13 on his chair.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: 1B Mark Teixeira was out of the lineup for the second straight day. Girardi said Teixeira was banged up and could use consecutive days off. ... RHP Bryan Mitchell (left big toe), on the DL since spring training, allowed three runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings for Tampa at Daytona on Saturday night in his second rehab start.UP NEXTYankees: RHP Chad Green (1-2) will be recalled from Scranton to start Mondays series opener against Toronto and R.A. Dickey (8-12). Green, who had been sent down Aug. 4, will be making his fifth start and ninth appearance of the year for New York. ' ' '