TOULOUSE (France), July 13: The Tour de France focus switched back to cycling on Saturday when Briton Mark Cavendish’s win in the rain-swept eighth stage overshadowed Manuel Beltran’s positive drugs test the previous day.

Cavendish, who also captured the fifth stage on Wednesday for Team Columbia, won the 172.5-kms ride from Figeac to Toulouse, beating team mate Gerald Ciolek of Germany in a mass sprint. France’s Jimmy Casper took third place for Agritubel.

The result underlined Team Columbia’s presence on the Tour with Luxembourg’s Kim Kirchen retaining the overall leader’s yellow jersey in an unchanged top 10 and Swede Thomas Lovkvist still wearing the white jersey for the best young rider.

Spaniard Oscar Freire of the Rabobank team took the green jersey for the best sprinter after finishing fourth in Toulouse.

On Friday, the Tour suffered its first doping episode, with Liquigas rider Beltran of Spain testing positive for the blood-boosting erythropoietin (EPO).

Beltran was kicked out of the race and will be fired by the Italian outfit if his B-sample returns positive.

However, the Tour caravan pressed on as normal on Saturday morning, just as Beltran was at the airport on his way back home.

Leading results of eighth stage:

1. Mark Cavendish (Britain/Columbia) 4 hrs 2 mins 54 secs; 2. Gerald Ciolek (Germany/Columbia) ; 3. Jimmy Casper (France/Agritubel) ; 4. Oscar Freire (Spain/ Rabobank) ; 5. Robert Foerster (Germany/ Gerolsteiner) ; 6. Erik Zabel (Germany/ Milram) ; 7. Gert Steegmans (Belgium/ Quick-Step) ; 8. Sebastien Chavanel (France/Francaise des Jeux) ; 9. Thor Hushovd (Norway/Credit Agricole) ; 10. Robert Hunter (South Africa/Barloworld) ; 11. Romain Feillu (France/Agritubel) ; 12. Mark Renshaw (Australia/Credit Agricole) ; 13. Ruben Perez (Spain/Euskaltel) ; 14. Inaki Isasi (Spain/Euskaltel) ; 15. Francesco Chicchi (Italy/Liquigas ) ; 16. Heinrich Haussler (Germany/Gerolsteiner) ; 17. Robbie McEwen (Australia/Silence-Lotto) ; 18. Leonardo Duque (Colombia/Cofidis) ; 19. Julian Dean (New Zealand/Garmin-Chipotle) ; 20. Oscar Pereiro (Spain/Caisse d’Epargne) .—Reuters