Mark Cavendish took victory on stage two of the UAE Tour as he moved to third in the overall standings.
The Briton produced a trademark sprint finish to win the 176km stage, with Belgium’s race leader Jasper Philipsen finishing second in the same time.
“I knew we could win here,” said the 36-year-old Cavendish.
“[The team’s] job was to get me to the final feeling as fresh as possible and they did it so well that I was able to launch with 300 to 350m to go.”
The win was the 158th of Cavendish’s professional career.
He added: “I’m happy I could hold off Philipsen.”
Philipsen leads second-placed Dmitrii Strakhov by four seconds in the overall standings, with Cavendish six seconds off the front.
Stage three on Tuesday will be an individual time trial.
