Mark Cavendish wins final stage of Tour of Oman for first victory of 2011
Mark Cavendish, after a start to the season that has included two painful crashes, finally notched up his first win of 2011 when he won a bunch finish to take the final stage of the Tour of Oman.
Happy days: Mark Cavendish has won his first race of 2011 Photo: ACTION IMAGES
By Brendan Gallagher 5:04PM GMT 20 Feb 2011
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Cavendish, who crashed at both the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Qatar, dismissed second-place Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini) in the final burn-up in a style that suggests he is rapidly approaching top form as he sets his sight on Milan-San Remo, the Monument he won in sensation style in 2009.
“It's great to win so early in the season," said Cavendish afterwards. “It’s always great to win a stage. And the team did a great job.
"Matthew Goss took me through the difficult sprint and I delivered. I'’ve only been racing for 19 days and it’s great to win so early. It’s normally not in my standard. But my goal isn’t to win races now. I have to be at my best for the Tour de France and win there and carry on my winning form all the way to the World Championships in October.”
Dutch climber Robert Gesink (Rabobank) took the overall win after convincing victories in Friday's mountain stage and Saturday's individual time trial. Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen finished second overall.
Meanwhile in Portugal Team Sky's Steve Cummings, suffering the effects of two heavy falls during Saturday's stage, had to be content with seventh overall in the Tour of the Algarve on Sunday after finishing 1 min.03secs behind the eventual overall winner Tony Martin.
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