Mark Cavendish struggling to get his form at the Tour of Oman
Reigning UCI World Road Champion Mark Cavendish is currently testing his legs at the Tour of Oman 2012.
He was eyeing the 144.5 kilometre stage 3 of the race but could not finish any better than the frustrating 8th spot.
However, the German cyclist Marcel Kittel had no complains, as he cruised past the finish-line in a fastest time of 3 hours and 23 minutes.
Andre Greipel, Nacer Bouhanni, Tyler Farrar and Peter Sagan occupied the second, third, fourth and fifth positions.
Cavendish was furious with the race organisers during the third stage, as he moved inside the Team Sky’s tent after a disappointing finish.
However, his team-mate CJ Sutton briefed that the narrowed road during the final 10 kilometres of the race made it really difficult for the cyclists.
He cited, "I wouldn't say we got lost, we just lost a few positions, It was all just a bit of a blur really, trying to look behind and make sure Cav was there and safe on the wheel. We did everything we could, it just wasn't good enough".
He further added, "I was just trying to keep Cav out of trouble, It was all going perfect and we just got lost a couple of times. You have a plan and you try to execute it but sometimes it doesn't always go to plan".
Sutton believes that Cavendish’s crash during the Tour of Qatar is the main reason behind his dipping performance.
Mark started his 2012 campaign at the Tour of Qatar and secured the third and the fifth stages of the race.
He claimed the sixth overall spot after the final general classifications, Tom Boonen of Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step won the event.
Team Sky is one of the strongest sides for the season ahead. It has signed as many as eight new cyclists for the year underway.
Mark Cavendish, Danny Pate, Richie Porte, Salvatore Puccio, Luke Rowe, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Bernhard Eisel and Sergio Henao are the new entrants in the British team.
The 26-year-old rode with Team HTC High-Road in 2011and started his 2012 season with the British team.
He had a tremendous 2011 season and it will be interesting to see if Cavendish can continue his winning momentum in the season ahead.
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