MARSEILLE, France -- Mark Cavendish will never be the greatest Tour de France rider, because he will never win the race five times like Eddy Merkcx of Belgium and Frenchman Bernard Hinault. Still, the sprinter with thighs like thick hams could outdo both of those legends -- by winning more stages than them at cyclings premier race. By Cavendishs warp-speed standards, his 24th stage win on Wednesday was like taking candy from a baby. The teammates who led Cavendish to the finish, sucking him along in their wheels, building up his speed, were toiling like clockwork. Stamping on his pedals, head down, thighs pumping like pistons, Cavendish then whooshed off alone for the last 150 metres (yards), leaving everyone else in his wake. Cavendish was carrying so much momentum and this win in Marseille, Frances second-largest city, was so comfortable that he was able to sit up in the saddle and make a hand motion like cracking a whip as he crossed the line. One more stage win will tie Cavendish with Andre Leducq, the Frenchman who got 25 stage wins in the 1920s and 1930s, putting him third on the all-time list. Beyond Leducq is Hinault, who notched up 28 wins in the 1970s and 80s. Merckxs monument is 34, won from 1969 to 1975. Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain also won five Tours, but didnt win as many stages as Hinault and Merckx. Anquetil won 16; Indurain got 12. All seven of Lance Armstrong Tour wins were stripped from him for doping. This 100th Tour is the first since Armstrongs fall last year. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal was the top Canadian in the fifth stage, finishing 103rd. Hesjedal, who confirmed Wednesday that hes racing with a broken rib, is 14th in the overall classification, 17 seconds behind Gerrans. Quebec Citys David Veilleux is 143rd, 25 minutes and 28 seconds off the pace, while Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is 169th, 33:23 off the pace. Cavendish makes out that he isnt fixated on Hinault or Merckxs numbers. He notes that for many riders, winning just one stage at the 110-year-old Tour -- let alone the 11 he needs to overhaul Merckx -- is a career-defining feat. "You have to show the Tour de France the respect it deserves," he said. But then Cavendish isnt any other rider. Before this edition, he collected on average nearly five wins at every Tour since 2008. In 2009, he got six. He won the last four sprint finishes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, where he is unbeaten since 2009. While Merckxs record is still a way off, Hinault and most certainly Leducq look within Cavendishs grasp. "Obviously I aim to win multiple stages each year. But to set any goals, any number ... it does one of two things: It sets you up to fail for something or it puts like a mark on what you want to achieve and it can kind of stop you trying to move forward," he said. Were Cavendish to overtake Hinault, it wouldnt mean he is a better overall rider than the famously bad-tempered "Badger," who was strong on every terrain. But in a sprint, Cavendish has no equal, at least in this generation. Although Cavendish downplays the chase for stage-win milestones, he is certainly very aware of them. The Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, says that more than a year ago, at the Tour of Oman, he quietly tested Cavendishs knowledge of Tour de France history and was delighted when he rattled off the names of Andre Darrigade, who won 22 stages in the 1950s and 60s, as well as Leducq, Hinault, Merckx and their respective totals. "He is aware of what does it take ... to become No. 1 on the list of most winning riders ever," confirmed Rolf Aldag, one of the managers of Cavendishs Omega Pharma-Quick Step team. "He has a chance to make history," he said. "Its a goal, its a target." Cavendish would be the first to note that, unlike Merckx, he doesnt win alone. His teammates worked tirelessly to manoeuvre him into place in Marseille. They helped reel in breakaway riders who scooted off ahead and then delivered him like express mail to within sight of the line. Omegas Italian rider, Matteo Trentin, surged to the front and pedalled as hard as he could up to and around the final left-hand bend, pulling Gert Steegmans and Cavendish behind him. Exhausted, Trentin then made way for Steegmans, who led Cavendish at top speed to the signboard marking 150 metres to go. From there, the man known as the "Manx Missile," because he comes from the Isle of Man, did the rest. "Perfect, man, perfect," Trentin said. "The basic plan never changes," Aldag said. "The basic plan is always we believe hes the fastest sprinter and we do everything that needs to be done to try to make him win." "I didnt do anything," Cavendish said. "Gert went with such speed that I could accelerate off his wheel and just carried on the speed he delivered me at." Stage 6 on Thursday -- 176.5 kilometres (110 miles) from Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier -- should also suit Cavendish, because it is flat. With his short, muscular frame, he doesnt like steep climbs. Simon Gerrans of Australia will again wear the yellow jersey, after keeping the race lead on Wednesdays bumpy 228.5-kilometre (142-mile) trek from the beach resort of Cagnes-sur-Mer. Air Force 1 Descuentos . - New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has an agreement to bring back outside linebacker Parys Haralson on a one-year deal. Air Force 1 Baratas España . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. http://www.airforce1baratas.es/.Tzavelas opened the scoring in the 11th and Pereyra added another in the 51st. Emmanuel Kone pulled one back in the 80th and Levadiakos missed several chances to level in the last 10 minutes. Air Force 1 Baratas Rebajas . Today, well look at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right. Air Force 1 Rebajas . Levante, which had lost five straight including a Copa del Rey game last weekend, fell behind at its Ciutat de Valencia stadium when Ionut Sapanura opened the scoring for Elche in the 26th minute.ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - The physical scar serves as Rahim Moores motivation. So, too, the emotional one.But the Broncos free safety doesnt want to ponder either one this weekend in his first playoff game since his infamous gaffe two years ago, which led to a franchise-jolting, double-overtime loss to Baltimore.Moore missed Denvers drive to the Super Bowl last year after a rare muscle condition cut short his eye-catching comeback at midseason and sent him to the hospital where surgeons saved his left leg.When he returned to the practice field this spring, sporting a 13-inch scar that serpentines down his left calf, he cried.Moore doesnt expect the tears to flow when the Broncos (12-4) face the Indianapolis Colts (12-5) on Sunday, one day shy of the two-year anniversary of his blunder against Baltimore and 14 months after his emergency operation.Im not anxious about anything, Moore said, pledging to stay even-keeled until the game clock hits all zeros.Dont dwell on the past, youve got to be futuristic, Moore said. Im going to go out there and do what Ive been doing all year.What he did was have another solid season, this time in the shadows of the Broncos three Pro Bowl defensive backs: Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward and Chris Harris Jr.In the hushed locker room following his ball-through-Buckners-legs moment against Baltimore, Moore promised next time to make the play and make up for his mistake — going for the ball instead of the tackle at the 30, then mistiming his jump.To do that, he knows he cant let his thirst for redemption get in the way.He said he plans to just go out there and act like its a normal game, still keep the same preparations, still get after it, still work hard, dont try to say, Oh, you have this bad taste in your mouth. No, just go out there and make a play. When you make a play, all that stufff is over.ddddddddddddIn Andrew Luck, Moore will be facing another quarterback who can sling it just like Joe Flacco did when he hit Jacoby Jones for that 70-yard TD in the final minute of regulation. Luck also brings mobility and size.Andrew Luck has elite speed and then when you try to tackle him, he may run you over, he may sidestep you, Moore said. Hes tough, too. Hes got good size. Hes one of those guys where you watch him on film, youre like, Man, hes fantastic. But you hope hes not fantastic versus you.Two of Moores four interceptions this season came against Luck in the opener, which Denver won 31-24 after going up 24-0 at halftime and 31-10 in the fourth quarter.Moore also collected 50 tackles this season, broke up five passes, forced two fumbles and recovered one.Hes done a tremendous job, coach John Fox said. You bring up (his bouncing back) from that particular play, it speaks a lot for the kind of young man and human being he is as well as a football player. Hes played good football for us. Hes had a very good season. Hes a big reason why were where we are defensively.According to the advanced statistics of Pro Football Focus, Moore had one of the best seasons of any safety in the NFL, leading the league in coverage snaps (688) and cover snaps per target (31.1) and ranking third in yards per cover snap (0.27) and cover snaps per reception (40.5).So, his pledge to just keep doing what hes doing could prove crucial and might even provide a dollop of redemption.Im not eager. Im not anxious, Moore said. I just want to go out there and have fun and just play as a team. And if we do that, man, I think well be fine.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL___Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '