Columbia's Mark Cavendish (left) just "pips" Garmin's Tyler Farrar at the finishing line of Stage 11. AP photo.

The rivals to Mark Cavendish thought that Wednesday was the day they could get him. Columbia’s sprinter had won three stages, and his top competitors have conceded that Cavs is the fastest guy on the flat.

But the finish in Saint Fargeau included a 600-meter incline to the line, and the uphill finish tips the scales in the favor of craftier sprinters. Even young Tyler Farrar of Garmin thought that if he could start his sprint earlier, he had a shot.

Instead, Cavendish got a great leadout and just barely held off Farrar, winning his fourth stage. To the delight of Brits Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, Cavendish tied Barry Hoban for the record of most victories in the Tour by a member of the UK, eight, and regained the green jersey.

The stages, such as Wednesday’s, when the bunch finishes together, seem boring and predictable. On those days, the mind wanders.

The way the towns people lined the streets of the small towns, with winding roads and houses covered in plaster, reminded me of the Tour of Missouri. The way they gather at corners and storefronts, cheering, reminds me of the way the marching band greeted the riders on the way from St. Joseph to Kansas City, with the locals selling homemade cookies out of the trunks of their cars.

So glad that the Tour of Missouri lives again.

Looking at the standings yesterday gave fans a start, noting that more than half the riders earned 15 seconds more than the first finishers. They all seemed to finish together, but race officials saw a gap. When a gap occurs, the time is measured from the time the first rider crossed the line to the time the first rider after the gap crossed. Among those behind the gap were Bradley Wiggins and Levi Leipheimer, fifth and fourth overall. The extra time caused them to slip to seventh and fifth.

Race officials reversed the ruling, however, and by the end of the stage Wednesday, there were no changes in the top 10 overall. Rinaldo Nocenti was first, six seconds ahead of Alberto Contador and eight seconds ahead of Lance Armstrong.

Racing wise Wednesday, the group caught the breakaway of Johan Van Summeren and Marcia Sapa earlier than expected, about 5K from the finish. The early catch made the head of the peloton was more chaotic, with as much beating and banging as a short track NASCAR race or when the Blues pace Keith Tkachuk in front of the goal on a power play. Leadout riders from Columbia, Milram, Garrmin and Liquigas tried to take control.

Eventually Columbia used everyone, including stalwart efforts former world time trial champion Mick Rogers, injured days ago and out of contention for the overall title, and white jersey wearer Tony Martin, doing the dirty work of pushing the pace of the train.

The crash Wednesday that could cause the most concern included Garmin’s Christian VandeVelde, eighth overall. He went down early with Angelo Furlan,  got up but went down again.

“I’m a little banged up, for sure,” VandeVelde told Versus, adding that he went down hard. “Luckily the peloton stopped and I could change bikes. I’m not out, that’s for sure. My team helped me get to the front.”