Cycling: Mark Cavendish shows he's a classy sprinter
HIS team-mate’s mechanical problems could not stop Mark Cavendish from clinching his well-calculated triumph in the Tour of Qatar yesterday.
Cavendish had to fend for himself in an exceptionally chaotic bunch sprint at 79kph after support from his Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, in the form of Guillaume van Keirsbulck, dropped back with a broken spoke. But one of the most drawn-out sprints of his career – 350m compared to the usual 150m – saw Cavendish capture his second stage success of 2013.
“We were a man down and I must have them by surprise and it was quite exciting to win there at the last possible moment.”
He moved into the wake of Sky rider and former team-mate Luke Rowe to bring him up to top speed.
“I know Luke’s fast so I got on his back wheel. Then, when the time came, I moved ahead,” he said.