Mark Cavendish reveals the preparation that went into his Abu Dhabi Tour stage win
Dimension Data says analysis of last year's sprint finish was key
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Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) has said it was his team’s efforts to study the tape of his failed sprint on the same finish last year that was key to his win on stage one of the Abu Dhabi Tour today.
Last October, when the race occupied a different slot on the calendar, Cavendish came third in the sprint finish at the same location.
Today he bettered that beating André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) and Niccolo Bonifazio (Bahrain-Merida) into second and third place respectively.
>>> Owain Doull's foot and shoes 'cut by disc brakes' in Abu Dhabi Tour crash
Speaking after the stage Cavendish said: "Today we watched and studied the final last year it was the same finish and we did everything wrong, so we actually did make a conscious effort to study what we did and do the opposite of last year."
"We did what we planned to do. I didn’t have to do anything today the guys were faultless."
Watch: Dubai Tour stage one highlights
However, Cavendish declined to breakdown the details of what exactly the team had changed, possibly wary of giving something away to his rivals.
The Manxman, who will now wear the race’s red race leader’s jersey tomorrow, said he did not draw any special confidence boost from taking first blood in a field stacked with most of the world’s best sprinters.
“I take more of a boost that my team did everything right than from beating the other people who are here. If I had lost today I would have had a lot of grovelling to do,” he said.
>>> Riders react on Twitter after Owain Doull blames disc brakes for injury
When asked if he felt a greater level of confidence for Milan-San Remo less than a month out from the season’s maiden Monument than he had done a year ago Cavendish said: “It’s not a confidence thing at all I’m a realist I know what I need to do and what I do… I know if I’m in form or not in form and for this season I’m quite confident with where my form is right now.”
Cavendish is now aiming to double his 2017 win tally tomorrow on a finish he won on last year in Abu Dhabi city itself.
"It’s wicked I remember that stage last year and the year before its an incredible city Abu Dhabi. Especially going past the Sheikh Zayed mosque, it’s one of the most incredible things you’ll see.
"Last year there could have been a crash because the whole peloton just turns and stares"
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Having trained as a journalist at Cardiff University I spent eight years working as a business journalist covering everything from social care, to construction to the legal profession and riding my bike at the weekends and evenings. When a friend told me Cycling Weekly was looking for a news editor, I didn't give myself much chance of landing the role, but I did and joined the publication in 2016. Since then I've covered Tours de France, World Championships, hour records, spring classics and races in the Middle East. On top of that, since becoming features editor in 2017 I've also been lucky enough to get myself sent to ride my bike for magazine pieces in Portugal and across the UK. They've all been fun but I have an enduring passion for covering the national track championships. It might not be the most glamorous but it's got a real community feeling to it.
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