Cycling: Mark Cavendish gets his first win for Sky

Mark Cavendish claimed his first win for Team Sky as a trademark sprint finish earned him victory in stage three of the Tour of Qatar.

The Manxman, who switched to the British-run team after winning the Tour de France’s green jersey and the world championships last year, beat race leader Tom Boonen into second on the 146.5-kilometre stage from Dukhan to Al Gharafa Stadium.

The victory was even more impressive given Cavendish had been a doubt to start the tour after falling ill on the flight to Doha. Cavendish, having been led into position by team-mate Bernhard Eisel, edged out Belgian Boonen (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) by little more than a bike length, with Lithuania’s Aidis Kruopis (GreenEDGE) in third.

Cavendish had been in the lead group of around 30 riders when crosswinds split the peloton into three with 30km to go.

The win moved the 26-year-old up to third in the overall standings, eight seconds behind Boonen and two adrift of American Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Barracuda).

Cavendish told the Team Sky website: “I’m very happy with that. You never really get the season going until you get that first win under your belt. So now it’s there I can hopefully get on a roll now.”