Dimension Data’s Mark Cavendish just took his first victory of the season with an impressive performance at stage three of the Dubai Tour a couple of hours ago.
It seems the time for Cavendish to reflect his skills and caliber had come after the lack of coordination and speed he showcased during the first two races.
Second place went to Cofidis’ Nacer Bouhanni while third went to Katusha-Alpecin’s Marcel Kittel. On the other hand, the stage two winner and overall lead Elia Viviani couldn’t secure a better position for himself than sixth place.
No stranger to the top spot, @MarkCavendish takes to the podium after securing the win on Stage 3 of 2018’s #DubaiTour. pic.twitter.com/jnhHNMCRk2
— Dubai Tour (@dubaitour) February 8, 2018
“I had a good feeling today, especially after yesterday, I knew I was there. I knew the team was there,” Cavendish said after the stage. “And I can’t beat Viviani in a track sprint race so I had to wait, wait and wait, and use my jump. Any time of the year, it’s important to win. It’s good for my account. Already with this win, I’ve won the same amount of races I won in the whole season last year.
The thing I’m disappointed about is that yesterday, when I realized I couldn’t win, had I kept going, I would have come second and be in the lead now. It’s my own fault. But I’ll try and get the blue jersey in the next two days.”
Stage three Results
Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data – 3:53:46
Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
Marcel Kittel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin
Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport
Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team
Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo
More action from the day’s podium presentations.#DubaiTour pic.twitter.com/VFP2FBwFqI
— Dubai Tour (@dubaitour) February 8, 2018
General Classification so far
Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors – 12:19:38
Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 0:00:04
Nathan Van Hooydonck (Bel) BMC Racing Team – 0:00:07
Magnus Cort (Den) Astana Pro Team – 0:00:08
Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
Loic Vliegen (Bel) BMC Racing Team
Marcel Kittel (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin – 0:00:10
Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates – 0:00:14
Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
