"If didn't feel good all day with that many anti-inflammatories," boasted Cavendish as if to remind his rivals how much he would have beaten them had he felt good. "I was suffering with the heat. It wore me out. I was comfortable on the climb, but I was dead at the finish," he continued as reporters around him checked the results sheet once again to make sure he actually won. "I could see Gossy's shadow the whole way, getting closer and closer. I was happy to hang on for the win."
Gossy is Matt Goss, winner of stage three. He finished second to Cav but maintains the World Champion is beatable. "If I didn't think he was beatable, there wouldn't be any sense in me trying to take him on whenever I can," he said without mentioning that beating him is only possible with the aid of Roberto Ferrari.
Cavendish was joined on the podium by his daughter Delilah who at just over a month of age can claim to have spent more time on the podium this season than Cavendish's sprint rival, Thor Hushovd.
Actually, it was a testament to Cav's form -- despite what drivel he rolls out about being dead at the finish -- that he was in the mix for the win. The group he sprinted with contained just 17 riders with the larger peloton five seconds back. Some of his would be rivals for the sprint including the American Tyler Farrar, Cav's good buddy Ferrari and the aforementioned Hushovd, all came in with a medium sized group 9min 14sec behind after being dropped on the rides speedy run-in.
Ramunas Navardauskas retains the pink jersey while Cavendish moves up to fifth.
