Cavendish doubles in De Panne

By Bjorn Haake in De Panne

Mark Cavendish won the third stage of the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde in a tight sprint against Robbie McEwen (Katusha) Thursday, in Belgium. The win marked his eighth win of the season and in a repeat of the 2008, Cavendish won the second and third stages of the event.

"I am very happy that I've done the double, again," he said before adding that, "Robbie really pushed me [yesterday]."

The win propelled Cavendish past Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence-Lotto and Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) in the point's classification. The Brit will start the afternoon's time trial to defend the green sprinter's jersey.