Mark Cavendish goes the extra mile as Abu Dhabi Tour ambassador

Osman Samiuddin reports from the finale of the Abu Dhabi Tour, where Mark Cavendish made it two Stage wins from four for 'a great way to close the season'.

British rider Mark Cavendish of Team Dimension Data crosses the finish line to win Stage 4 of the Abu Dhabi Tour on Sunday. Claudio Peri / EPA / October 23, 2016

You could be forgiven for thinking that, as brand ambassador for an event, responsibilities are positively, well, ambassadorial.

A little bit of chit-chat, a mingle here, a photo there. Look good, smile, say nice things and be off.

Not for Mark Cavendish, ambassador for the Abu Dhabi Tour and clearly keen to make up for having missed out on racing in the inaugural edition of the Tour last year.

This time round, he rolled his sleeves up and left his sweat behind at a memorable debut to the Tour. He won the final stage at the Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday evening and with it the green jersey for the points classification win.

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That was his second stage win, following his triumph in the capital stage on Friday. Had it not been for a minor miscalculation in the sprint finish of the first leg at Madinat Zayed, where he ultimately finished third, he would have swept the flat stages.

Rival Elia Viviani’s assessment that he is the best sprinter in the world this year brooks little serious argument; Viviani was on the wrong side again on Sunday, finishing third behind Cavendish and Giacomo Nizzolo.

Welcome to the Abu Dhabi Tour, Mark?

“I’m really happy,” he said. “I’m the ambassador of the race, so I wanted to come here and be successful at the end of the season. To win two stages, to get the green jersey, I’m very happy about that.

“We had a great show and a strong turnout, we got to close the season today at a spectacular circuit at Yas Marina.”

Though Cavendish has ridden here before, this was his first time at the Yas Marina Circuit in a professional race and he could not hide his excitement during the race.

“It was special. I was making car noises going around the corners. I’ve ridden here before on the bike, but I’d like to do it in a car at some point.

“It was nice. There was a big crowd as well and it was a great way to close the season.”

Cavendish will hope for a repeat at the next Abu Dhabi Tour, scheduled for February 2017. He will be ambassador again, but more importantly, the race will be a part of the World Tour.

“Yeah, absolutely, I’m looking forward to coming back, with the Tour becoming a higher status as a World Tour race. It shows how far it’s come that in two years it will become the highest level event.”

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