After a crash plagued, quiet start to the year, Mark Cavendish has opened up his 2011 account with victory in the final stage of the Tour of Oman.
The Manxman rocketed to the win ahead of a duo of young fast finishers: 23 year old Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and 2011 breakout sensation Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini).
"Everyone tries to go for the win in races like this so it's a bit hectic," Cavendish said after the finish, "But it was great, I had [teammates] Hayden Roulston and Matt Goss looking after me in the finish, and they did a good job holding onto me, and I did a good job holding onto them all the way through."
"Goss went at the end, I left a gap then went for it myself. It was difficult with the wind, but it all worked perfectly."
"It's always good to get the first victory of the year, too, it didn't work out the other day but now I've got it and I'm happy," he concluded.
The 157 kilometer stage from Qurayyat to Mattrah finished, as expected, in a bunch kick. The sprinters had to work for it though, as a strong break of five went up the road early. The break's contents included former Gent-Wevelgem winner Marcus Burghardt, Irishman Mark Cassidy of the An Post-Sean Kelly team, Daniele Ratto (Geox-TMC), Dmytro Krivtsov (Lampre-ISD), and Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen).
Garmin-Cervelo's Roger Hammond attempted to bridge across to the break, but couldn't make the juncture. The break didn't get much of a leash early on, but eventually pushed it out to three minutes. That was all they'd get though.
Behind the hard working break members, the sprinter teams set about ironing out the gap's advantage. HTC-Highroad, Rabobank, and Farnese Vini were all active at the front, and with ten kilometers remaining, the lead group had only 30 seconds. There would be no stopping the coming bunch sprint.
Finally, in legendary HTC-Highroad fashion, Cavendish's leadout was perfect, his sprint spot on, and the victory a sigh of relief.
Robert Gesink finished safely in the field to take the overall victory.
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Tour of Oman (2.1), Feb 15 – 20:
Stage 6, February 20: Qurayyat to Mattrah Seafront:
1, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) 157 kilometres in 3 hours 39 mins 58 secs
2, Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha Team
3, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
4, Matteo Pelucchi (Geox-TMC
5, Francesco Chicchi (Quickstep Cycling Team
6, Thor Hushovd (Team Garmin-Cervelo
7, Pieter Ghyllebert (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly)
8, Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ)
9, Stijn Neirynck (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)
10, Theo Bos (Rabobank Cycling Team)
11, Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek)
12, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling)
13, Nikolay Trusov (Katusha Team)
14, Alexander Kristoff (BMC Racing Team)
15, Tomas Vaitkus (Pro Team Astana) all same time
Young rider:
1, Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha Team) 3 hours 39 mins 58 secs
2, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli)
3, Matteo Pelucchi (Geox-TMC)
4, Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ)
5, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling)
6, Alexander Kristoff (BMC Racing Team) all same time
Teams:
1, Katusha Team, 10 hours 59 mins 54 secs
2, Team Leopard-Trek
3, Quick Step Cycling Team
4, Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator
5, Team Garmin - Cervelo
6, HTC – Highroad, all same time
Other:
15, An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) at 1 min 49 secs
Final General Classification:
1, Robert Gesink (Rabobank Cycling Team) 20 hours 24 mins 36 secs
2, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) at 1 min 13 secs
3, Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli) at 1 min 19 secs
4, Michael Albasini (HTC-Highroad) at 1 min 52 secs
5, Christian Vande Velde (Team Garmin-Cervelo) at 2 mins 4 secs
6, Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) at 2 mins 11 secs
7, Dries Devenyns (Quickstep Cycling Team) at 2 mins 13 secs
8, Maxime Monfort (Leopard Trek) at 2 mins 19 secs
9, Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli) at 2 mins 51 secs
10, Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Sky Procycling) at 3 mins 3 secs
11, Jakob Fuglsang (Leopard Trek) at 3 mins 29 secs
12, Alexandre Vinokourov (Pro Team Astana) at 4 mins 51 secs
13, Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ) at 4 mins 58 secs
14, Simon Geschke (Skil - Shimano) at 5 mins 52 secs
15, Marc De Maar (Quickstep Cycling Team) at 6 mins 17 secs
Best young rider:
1, Robert Gesink (Rabobank Cycling Team) 20 hours 24 mins 36 secs
2, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) at 1 min 13 secs
3, Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ) at 4 mins 58 secs
4, Simon Geschke (Skil - Shimano) at 5 mins 52 secs
5, Michael Schär (BMC Racing Team) at 6 mins 17 secs
6, Tanel Kangert (Pro Team Astana) at 6 mins 40 secs
Teams:
1, Team Leopard-Trek, 61 hours 21 mins 34 secs
2, Sky Procycling, at 2 mins 45 secs
3, Bmc Racing Team, at 6 mins 40 secs
4, Team Garmin – Cervélo, at 7 mins 43 secs
5, Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli, at 8 mins 42 secs
6, HTC – Highroad, at 9 mins 40 secs
Points:
1, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Procycling) 41 pts
2, Theo Bos (Rabobank Cycling Team) 31
3, Robert Gesink (Rabobank Cycling Team) 30
4, Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) 29
5, Matthew Harley Goss (HTC-Highroad) 24
6, Daniele Bennati (Leopard Trek) 24
Most combativite rider:
1, Marko Kump (Geox-TMC) 12 pts
2, Pieter Serry (Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator) 10
3, Daniele Ratto (Geox-TMC) 9
4, Patrik Sinkewitz (Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli) 6
5, Mark McNally (An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly) 6
6, Tanel Kangert (Pro Team Astana) 4