MONTARGIS, France, (Reuters) – Mark Cavendish burst  into tears and broke down on the podium as weeks and months of  tension were finally released by victory in the fifth stage of  the Tour de France yesterday.

The Briton, winner of six stages last year, has endured a  difficult start to both the Tour and the season, tarnished by  self-doubt, controversies, crashes and two-finger salutes.

“I was on a cloud with my past wins and I crashed down. I  went through hell,” Cavendish told French television before  bursting into tears.

Yellow jersey holder Fabian Cancellara, who retained the  overall lead at the end of a 187-km ride in extreme heat, even  came to cheer him up as the Briton was holding his head in his  arms, incapable of uttering a word.

The two sprints held on the Tour so far, both won by Italy’s  Alessandro Petacchi, seemed to plunge the 25-year-old Isle of  Man rider deeper into despair.

He literally hit the ground in the first stage in Brussels  and hit a mental wall in the finale in Reims in stage four when  he could not react to Petacchi’s attack.

And the talk of the Tour at the start of the day in the  champagne town of Epernay was whether he would raise his arms  again and snatch his 11th stage win on the race this year.

Only his Columbia team were convinced it was the case.

“Fundamentally, Mark is still the fastest sprinter in the  peloton,” team manager Bob Stapleton told Reuters at the start.

“The problem yesterday was with the team tactics. Our  delivery system failed to bring him to the right place in the  right time,” he added.

This time, the Columbia gameplan worked to perfection in a  tricky finale full of curves, turns and corners.

The Garmin team-mates of American Tyler Farrar led the way  into the final stretch but Cavendish’s Australian  rocket-launcher Mark Renshaw took over, his leader in his wheel.

While Petacchi, Farrar of green-jersey holder Thor Hushovd  of Norway were suddenly stuck in the pack, there was no stopping  the Briton, who went on to win probably the most emotional  victory of his career.

Germany’s Gerald Ciolek was second and Norway’s Edvald  Boasson-Hagen was third.

“It’s a real relief, it gives me such a sense of  achievement. The guys did such an incredible job. They did a  great job yesterday but I let them down.

“I’m so happy I was able to finish the job today,” he said.

The Briton admitted he had his wrongs and apologised for the  controversies which marred his season.

In only his second win of the season in the Tour of Romandie  in May, he gestured a two-finger salute that saw him withdrawn  from the race by his team.

A month later in the Tour of Switzerland, he was penalised  for dangerous sprinting when he crashed shortly before the line,  sending half a dozen other riders onto the tarmac.

Last year, coming into the Tour, Cavendish had won 15 races.  He had only won three when he arrived this year.

“It’s easy to get on a cloud. But you can’t stay there. I  crashed out and came down badly, it hurt. But people around me  picked me up and helped me back on my feet. I thank them.”

Cancellara retained the overall lead with a 23-second  advantage over Briton Geraint Thomas, with world champion Cadel  Evans of Australia in third place 39 seconds off the pace.