Mark Cavendish lifted some of the gloom surrounding the Tour de France by becoming the first Briton to secure a hat-trick of stage victories in the Tour de France.

Unlike his second victory, Cavendish had to complete the final sprint from Lavelanet to Narbonne without the help of a team-mate, and he peeled out to the left to overhaul the Milram team with comparative ease.

His achievement surpasses that of another sprinter, Barry Hoban, who won two stages in both 1969 and 1973.

With three consecutive defeats of Thor Hushovd, Erik Zabel and Oscar Freire, the 23-year-old Cavendish can legitimately claim the title of fastest sprinter in the world, even with the absence of Tom Boonen through recreational drug use.

The stage win is reward for Cavendish’s toil through the Pyrenees, which included a last-place finish and a collision with a football.

Cavendish rockets up the green jersey rankings to 121 points, still 41 behind Freire.

On a flat, transitional stage between the mountains, the battle for yellow took a back seat, so Cadel Evans retains the overall lead by one second from Frank Schleck.

For the second day in succession, the peloton departed amid the rancour of doping by one of its members.

This time it was Riccardo Ricco, the star rider of Saunier Duval-Scott, who many in cycling hoped would become one of the sport’s great climbers.

Ricco’s positive test for EPO, produced after the time-trial at Cholet on July 8, prompted Saunier Duval to withdraw voluntarily from the race, despite being given permission by the Amaury Sports Organisation to continue.