Mark Cavendish won Stage 7 in a classic sprint, giving him his first win at the Tour de France since Stage 13 in 2013. He lost his teammates late, but picked his way through the peloton to find Andre Greipel’s wheel, then surged around him just as Greipel had around Cavendish to win Stage 5.
2015 Tour de France results and standings, Stage 7: Mark Cavendish wins, finally
Stage 7 of the Tour de France felt refreshingly routine, right down to Mark Cavendish’s stage win.
No abandonments, no wind, no rain, no problems. Stage 7 could have been copy+pasted from any tour in the past. A breakaway of five riders gradually dwindled, and was ultimately caught with roughly 10 kilometers remaining when the peloton began ramping up its pace in preparation for the sprint. Etixx-Quick Step got exactly what it deserved after pulling the peloton along with Lotto-Soudal for most of the day. Cavendish’s win was a sweet counterpoint to Tony Martin’s crash at the end of Stage 6.
After the race, Cavendish said the win was a tribute to his fallen teammate.
“I just had this feeling,” Cavendish said. “The team was motivated. It was incredible. The near misses, for me in the sprint, and then to keep the faith was incredible. It’s so nice to get a win for Tony especially.”
Cavendish’s victory ended a drought of 36 stages without a win. With 26 career stage wins in the tour, he is now just two shy of Bernard Hinault for the second-most all-time.
Chris Froome will ride in yellow again beginning Saturday. No rider had the Maillot Jaune on Thursday because of Martin’s abandonment. In a way, the stage felt like a reset after a grueling first week at the tour. No drama, just another routine win by the Manx Missile.
Stage 7 results
| Name | Team | Time | Gap |
| Mark Cavendish | Etixx-Quick Step | 4:27:25 | |
| Andre Greipel | Lotto-Soudal | " | :00 |
| Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | " | " |
| John Degenkolb | Giant-Alpecin | " | " |
| Alexander Kristoff | Katusha | " | " |
| Arnaud Demarre | FDJ | " | " |
| Tyler Farrar | MTN-Qhubeka | " | " |
| Reinardt Janse van Rensburg | MTN-Qhubeka | " | " |
| Davide Cimolai | Lampre-Merida | " | " |
| Sam Bennett | Bora-Argon 18 | " | " |
General classification (yellow jersey) standings
| Name | Team | Time | Gap |
| Christopher Froome | Sky | 26:40:51 | |
| Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | 26:41:02 | :11 |
| Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 26:41:04 | :13 |
| Tony Gallopin | Lotto-Soudal | 26:41:17 | :26 |
| Greg Van Avermaet | BMC | 26:41:19 | :28 |
| Rigoberto Uran Uran | Etixx-Quick Step | 26:41:25 | :34 |
| Alberto Contador | Tinkoff-Saxo | 26:41:27 | :36 |
| Zdenek Stybar | Etixx-Quick Step | 26:41:43 | :52 |
| Geraint Thomas | Sky | 26:41:54 | 1:03 |
| Warren Barguil | Giant-Alpecin | 26:41:58 | 1:07 |
General Classification favorites
| Overall rank | Name | Team | Time | Gap |
| 1. | Christopher Froome | Sky | 26:40:51 | |
| 3. | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 26:41:04 | :13 |
| 7. | Alberto Contador | Tinkoff-Saxo | 26:41:27 | :36 |
| 12. | Vincenzo Nibali | Astana | 26:42:39 | 1:38 |
| 16. | Nairo Quintana | Movistar | 26:42:47 | 1:56 |
Points (green jersey) standings
| Name | Team | Points |
| Andre Greipel | Lotto-Soudal | 199 |
| Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | 187 |
| Mark Cavendish | Etixx-Quick Step | 151 |
| John Degenkolb | Giant-Alpecin | 148 |
| Bryan Coquard | Europcar | 96 |
King of the Mountains (polka dot jersey) standings
| Name | Team | Points |
| Daniel Teklehaimanot | MTN-Qhubeka | 4 |
| Joaquim Rodriguez | Katusha | 2 |
| Michael Schar | BMC | 1 |
| Rafal Majka | Tinkoff-Saxo | 1 |
| Thomas De Gendt | Lotto-Soudal | 1 |
| Chris Froome | Sky | 1 |
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