Mark Cavendish again held off a sprinting Thor Hushovd and won his third stage of this year's Tour de France, taking Tuesday's 116.7-mile Stage 10.

Cavendish also won the second and third stages, edging Hushovd in the third stage finish as well. The winner finished the relatively flat course from Limoges to Issoudun in 4 hours, 46 minutes, 43 seconds. Fifty-two riders were given the same finishing time.

Hushovd was second, his second runner-up stage finish to go with a Stage 6 victory this year. Tyler Farrar was third.

Overall tour leaders Rinaldo Nocentini, Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong were among the pack finishing in the same time as Cavendish. Nocentini remains six seconds ahead of Contador and eight seconds ahead of Armstrong in the overall standings.

Andreas Kloden and Levi Leipheimer, Astana teammates of Contador and Armstrong, are in fourth and fifth place, respectively, 54 seconds off the pace.

Wednesday's Stage 11 is a 115.2-mile run from Vatan to Saint-Fargeau over a relatively flat course in central France. The Tour de France continues through 21 stages, ending July 26 in Paris.