Mark Cavendish was considered one of the leading contenders for Milan-San Remo as soon as Omega Pharma-Quickstep confirmed he would be riding the race when organisers were forced to remove the Pompeiana climb. With just the Cipressa and the Poggio to climb in the closing stages, hopes of Cavendish securing his second career win in the race were high, and the British champion defied the brutally cold and wet conditions to stay in contention. Television close-ups showed the Manxman shivering against the cold but he remained with the leading group over the climbs, showing a steely determination to win.

However, with the hard work done, his sprint let him down – be it tiredness after 294km of racing, or just poor timing, after leading the sprint out early his challenge faded in the face of Alexander Kristoff’s acceleration. Ultimately he had to settle for fifth place – still the second best result of his career in the race, but perhaps left wondering what might have been.

After 294 cold/wet km’s, I had to go for broke (win or nothing) & start my sprint early. It didn’t pay off, but I gave my all #MilanoSanremo

— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) March 23, 2014

He later admitted his error on Twitter, but if he is looking for positives there were plenty there. Sticking with the rouleurs until the end, if the Pompeiana remains off the Milan-San Remo agenda he may well get another shot at victory.