Omega Pharma-Quick Step struggle in the rain-soaked finish.

Mark Cavendish voiced his disillusionment instantly after losing the sprint at Tirreno-Adriatico and did not mince his words in the post-race press conference, saying he would be having 'words' with his Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammates when he returned to the hotel.

Cavendish finished fifth behind Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) in the confused rain-drenched sprint in Indicatore and maintained the race leader's blue jersey but it was of little consolation after his teammates failed to look after him in the final km of the stage.

"Before the last corner we were about 30 places back. I'm not going to say what went wrong but I know the guys are better than this. We've got our best team here and we should be unbeatable," Cavendish said.

"We planned for the sprint, we wanted a sprint and we controlled the race from the beginning but it got quite chaotic in the final laps because of the rain. We stayed together as a team but we weren't in a good position for the last km."

"I'm quite disappointed today with my lead-out. I know they're so much better than that. I had to do a lot work in the last km. I was 30 riders back and had to come round. I was coming and coming and still thought I was in with a chance with 500 metres to go. I was moving up but then the peloton moved to the right and I had to slam on my brakes with 200 to go. That was the end of the chance of winning. I feel we could have got more out of today. We've got to have words tonight."