Cavendish wins Stage 13, Ricco, Piepoli kicked out

Mark Cavendish of Britain won his fourth stage in this year’s Tour de France and Cadel Evans of Australia retained the overall lead...

Mark Cavendish of Britain won his fourth stage in this year’s Tour de France and Cadel Evans of Australia retained the overall lead on Friday in a race reeling from a string of doping scandals.

The stage victory was the second in a row for the Team Columbia rider. Leading a group sprint, Cavendish beat Australia’s Robbie McEwen in second by nearly two bike lengths, while Romain Feillu of France was third.

Evans retained the yellow jersey by finishing alongside his main rivals in the main pack. He holds a one-second lead over Frank Schleck of Luxembourg and is 38 seconds ahead of US rider Christian Vande Velde in third.

Ricco fired

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Earlier Friday, the Saunier Duval team fired Italian rider Riccardo Ricco, winner of the sixth and ninth stages. He was removed from the race Thursday after testing positive for an advanced version of banned blood booster EPO.

Ricco was the biggest name among three riders who tested positive for EPO at the Tour this year. The result prompted his Saunier Duval team to quit the Tour. French judicial officials filed preliminary charges Friday against Ricco for alleged “use of a toxic substance,” said Antoine Leroy, state prosecutor in the town of Foix. If convicted, Ricco could face up to two years in prison.

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