(Reuters) – British cyclist Mark Cavendish started his 2022 season with a second-place finish on the opening stage of the Tour of Oman as the 36-year-old returned to the road after suffering serious injuries in a crash in November.
Fernando Gaviria won the race for UAE Team Emirates on Thursday, holding off Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider Cavendish in a sprint finish to the 138km stage from Rustaq Fort to Muscat.
Cavendish suffered broken ribs and a collapsed lung following a crash in the Six Days of Ghent track meeting in November. In the same month, he was assaulted by four armed men during a burglary at his home.
“Coming into the first race of a new season, you are never sure about form and it was good to get the feeling of racing back in my legs,” Cavendish said.
“I felt good throughout the stage and the speed was good at the end, but I was just in the wrong position which meant I had to come around the outside and catching Fernando was just that bit too much.”
Cavendish enjoyed a remarkable return to form in 2021, sprinting to four stage wins at the Tour de France to equal the record of 34 set by Belgian great Eddy Merckx.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam Holmes)
