Cav narrowly pipped again

Farrar celebrates stage win

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Mark Cavendish's wait for his first solo stage win at the Vuelta a España will have to continue after being pipped to the line by Tyler Farrar and Koldo Fernández on the fifth stage into Lorca.

The Manxman - who was narrowly beaten by Yauheni Hutarovich on Sunday - was pushed into third place this time around after kicking marginally too early on the long closing straight which rounded off 198.8km of action.

Farrar though, timed his own attack to perfection and jumped clear of Cavendish's slipstream in the final 100m before holding off a determined late burst from his Spanish rival.

Behind, all the main general classification contenders were credited with the same time as that lead trio which ensured Philippe Gilbert maintained his 10-second advantage over Igor Antón and Joaquim Rodríguez.

The day had began in sombre mood with a minute's silence being observed for the late Laurent Fignon, but when the action did get under way Pierre Rolland, David Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, José Vicente Toribio and Arnaud Labbe wasted no time in wriggling themselves free of their rivals.

That quartet's lead stretched to over six minutes as they swept east from Granada into Almería but it was around that point Gilbert's Omega Pharma - Lotto team decided enough was enough and began the gradual task of reeling them back in.

That feat was eventually achieved with 13.7km remaining, and as the riders continued into the destination town, HTC-Columbia and Lampre were prominent at the head of the peloton.

Both their lead-out trains would burn out prematurely however, and as Cavendish faded in the dying stages, it was Farrar who picked up the pieces to seal the second Vuelta win of his career.

After the stage the American told reporters: "It's a surprise for me to have won today because I was sick yesterday and didn't get much rest last night. I felt a bit better this morning though and I guess adrenaline saw me through at the finish. I'm happy to have done this for my team."