Mark Cavendish was a surprise late entry for the two-day Giro della Toscana and the Coppa Sabatini but the Manxman told Cyclingnews he was happy to be racing near his base in Tuscany rather than against most of his world championship rivals who are in action at the Eneco Tour.
Cavendish handled the late climb in both stages with ease and finished seventh on stage 1 and then a close second to Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) today at the end of stage 2. He was disappointed not to win and vented his anger and waved his hand briefly at Bennett for moving his line but accepted it was all part of high-speed sprinting.
"I'm fine with second today. I'm happy, my form is good and team's riding well," he told Cyclingnews. "I had to back off when Bennett moved a little and then I was in the rough but that's all part of sprinting. I'm happy with that. I trained all weekend and before these races and so I've worked hard. It's important for Worlds."
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Cavendish is focused on preparing for the road race in Doha on October 16. He knows he can now do little to help Dimension Data win enough WorldTour points as the African team fights to stay in cycling's highest division in 2017. That is up to Edvald Boasson Hagen, who leads the Dimension Data squad at the Eneco Tour. He is chasing overall success and WorldTour points.
Cavendish was expected to ride the Eneco Tour and go up against his world championships rivals but opted for a different plan.
"There are two simple reasons why I decided to ride the Giro della Toscana. One is that it's near my home in Quarrata and two, as a team, we need WorldTour points," he told Cyclingnews.
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