Cavendish pips Viviani to take Abu Dhabi Tour overall lead
BySportsbeat
Published 21/10/2016 at 16:20 GMT
Mark Cavendish insisted all is well in his relationship with Elia Viviani, after beating the Italian in a sprint to win stage two of the Abu Dhabi Tour.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
The Dimension Data rider edged out Team Sky's Viviani in the closing 50m as he took the stage win and the overall lead at the end of the 155km stage.
The pair reportedly fell out in March at the Track World Championships, as Cavendish pipped the Italian in the final sprint, denying Viviani omnium gold as the Manxman finished sixth.
But the pair made up and the Italian stood atop the podium at Rio 2016 as Cavendish took omnium silver behind him.
Viviani finished a distant 16th in Thursday's first stage, but hit the front late on during stage two, with Cavendish pipping him on the line.
"We've always respected each other in races. We had a problem at the Track World Championships in London but we cleared things up," he explained.
"I've always believed you should try to have a good relationship with everyone, also because it can come in handy in races.
"Cycling is already hard enough, so falling out with people only makes it harder."
Saturday sees the riders tackle a 142km medium mountain stage from Qasr Al Muwaiji to Jebel Hafeet.
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