Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) with his podium flowers(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) celebrates victory on stage 1 of the Dubai Tour.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Etixx-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere and Marck Cavendish after stage 1 in Dubai(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) won the opening stage of the Dubai Tour by the slimmest of margins over Astana’s Andrea Guardini. With memories of the opening stage of the Tour de San Luis, Cavendish went early. It almost cost him, as Guardini made a late surge to the line and almost caught him out.
The day was marked by a five-man break that held a slim advantage until they were finally caught with 20 kilometres remaining.
Cavendish will go into day two with the leader’s blue jersey on his back and a four-second advantage over Guardini. The Manxman also leads the points competition with Ben Swift topping the intermediate sprint classification.
Watch the video below for highlights of stage 1 of the Tour of Dubai and click here to subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel.
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