PHIL GOOD

Belgian Jasper takes stage but Cav happy with sixth spot

- MIKE WALTERS

MARK CAVENDISH deferred to his sixth sense after a promising show of strength came to nothing on his farewell Tour de France crusade.

As the peloton crossed into French territory from the Grand Depart in Basque country, Cavendish was in the mix for the race's first bunch sprint in Bayonne - but came home sixth.

Belgium's Jasper Philipsen, led out superbly by Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Mathieu van der Poel, won stage three after a 116.1-mile run along the Bay of Biscay coastline.

But the Manx Missile said: "I'm happy with that - OK, I'd like to win, but I'm happy with how the boys rode and happy with the speed. Another 100 metres going uphill to the finish would have suited me more, but we can take confidence for the next days and I know the speed's there."