Mark Cavendish leaves the Dubai Tour empty-handed after a mechanical destroyed his opportunity to sprint on the final stage of the race in the Middle East. Having screwed up the lead-out on stage 2, however, the team was well-placed for the finale and Cavendish was full of praise for the teamwork that delivered Mark Renshaw to a 2nd place.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team rider Mark Renshaw adapted to an unexpected scenario in the final kilometer of 123km Dubai Tour Stage 4 on Saturday. Despite an excellent leadout for Mark Cavendish that included five riders in front with 2.7km to go, and three leading him out approaching the final kilometer, Cavendish dropped out of contention at approximately 1.5km remaining due to a mechanical after hitting a traffic object. Renshaw was then left to fight for the sprint.

Despite the chaos, the quality of the OPQS leadout and a quick reaction by Renshaw put him in good position to contest. He finished second to Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano). Andrea Guardini (Astana Pro Team) was 3rd. 

Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team) won the overall. OPQS rider Tony Martin finished just outside the podium for the GC, finishing 4th (+23").

The race came back together with 13km to go, with OPQS rider Wout Poels on the front assisting with the chase as three riders were up the road. 

"We were really motivated today, it was a nice sprint," Cavendish said. "We planned it really well. The team rode really good, it was a flat stage. Unfortunately, coming into the final, it's what can happen. It's a dangerous sport. I hit some bollard in the road and I've got a swollen hand and it ripped the chain out of my rear mech. I just count myself lucky because if it was a concrete or a metal one like in Europe I wouldn't be here to talk about it right now.

"But, I was happy with the team," he added. "The team carried on and we have to be happy with Renshaw taking 2nd behind Marcel Kittel. The team did a good job and it showed that if things had gone a bit better we could have got the win."
 

Renshaw was convinced that 2nd was the maximum achievable.

"The race went well up until the final kilometers," he said. "There was a little bit of a mix-up in the final. It was a shame because we set the stage up for him. The incident was only with a little more than a kilometer to go and we had to make a quick change of planning, so finishing 2nd is probably the maximum I could do."
 

Despite leaving the race empty-handed, general manager Patrick Lefevere was happy with the showing on the final day

"The team did a perfect job, like we discussed this morning," he said. "Everything went well. At about a kilometer and a half to go Cavendish hit a road object. Mark Renshaw was still 2nd, even without sprinting. The team was looking for Mark, but they lost him due to the accident, so we cannot blame anybody about not winning today."

The team will now turn its attention to the Tour of Qatar where they hope Tom Boonen can take a 5th overall win. Starting each day at 12.15 you can follow the race on CyclingQuotes.com/live. You can read our preview here.