MARK Cavendish claimed his second consecutive Tour de France stage win yesterday, producing another perfect sprint finish to retain the green jersey.

Cavendish, of Team Columbia-HTC, followed up Sunday's victory to claim the 196.5km stage three from Marseille to La Grande-Motte ahead of Thor Hushovd (Cervelo TestTeam) and Cyril Lemoine (Skil-Shimano).

Cavendish was part of a 27-man group, which included overall leader Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) and Lance Armstrong, but not his Astana team-mate and Tour favourite Alberto Contador, who pulled away in the closing 30km.

Cancellara, who finished sixth in the same time as the leading trio, maintains the yellow jersey, 33 seconds clear of Tony Martin (Columbia) and 40 clear of Armstrong in the general classification.

Contador, who finished 49th, some 41 seconds back, is now 59 seconds off the pace, while Britain's Bradley Wiggins is a minute behind Cancellara.

Cavendish, who becomes the first Briton to hold the green jersey for two days in a row, said: "It was like junior racing sometimes. Everybody's nervous about the team time-trial, I think, so we were the only team who were willing to take it on. What a way to stick it to them."