Green jersey Cav starts day 18 points clear

Mark Cavendish is hoping to retain the green jersey at the Tour de France today (Friday).

Stage 13 takes the riders from Pau to Lourdes.

Yesterday, Cav stayed within reach of the peloton to finish the difficult Col du Tourmalet stage.

He also picked up nine more points for being the first of the peloton in an intermediate sprint, extending his lead over closest rival Rojas to 18 points.

Frenchman Thomas Voeckler retains the leader's yellow jersey and is nearly two minutes clear of Frank Schleck of Luxembourg.