Mark Cavendish of Britain has won a sprint to take the fifth stage of the Tour de France, and Stefan Schumacher of Germany held on to the overall lead.

Cavendish beat Oscar Freire of Spain and veteran sprinter Erik Zabel of Germany on the line at the end of Wednesday’s flat, 144-mile flat stage from Cholet to Chateauroux that is the Tour’s longest leg.

Three Frenchmen _ Lilian Jegou, Nicolas Vogondy and Florent Brard _ hit the front after 7 miles and at one point had a lead of more than 8 minutes. However, the field never seemed concerned, and riders worked together to catch the breakaway just before the finish line.