Cavendish to race in Tour of Oman

Mark Cavendish has been confirmed by his team as starting the Tour of Oman, his second race in the Middle East this spring following the Tour of Qatar.

The HTC-Highroad sprinter will have three or possibly four chances to go for a victory in Oman. Only the uphill finish on stage four to Oman's Green Mountain and the time trial the following day are certain not to end in a bunch sprint.

It will be Cavendish's first participation in Oman, where rivals in the bunch sprints will include Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Daniele Bennati (Leopard-Trek) and Heinrich Haussler (Garmin-Cervélo).

Cavendish's Tour of Qatar was affected by a crash on the first day's prologue, where he injured his left knee, hip, and elbow as well as suffering head injuries. It was his second crash this season after he fell near the finish of a stage in the Tour Down Under.

The Briton was able to finish Qatar despite the crash. The race was won overall by his HTC-Highroad team-mate Mark Renshaw.

Cavendish's next race after Oman will be the Eroica one-day race in Italy before he heads to Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan - San Remo.