Mark Cavendish wins opening stage in Tour of Qatar

The 30-year-old, riding for Team Dimension Data, won stage one to Al Khor Corniche in a sprint finish from Sacha Modolo (Lampre) and Andrea Guardini (Astana).

Cavendish, who won the race in 2013, averaged close to 52km/h on this stage.

He plans to decide during the race whether he will compete at next month's track World Championships in London.

A winner of 26 Tour de France stages, Cavendish faces a packed schedule in 2016 with August's Olympic Games in Rio also a target.

The five-stage race finishes on Friday.

(BBC)