Cav ninth in Qatar, Swift third in Mallorca

Mark Cavendish finished ninth, in a bunch which came in 10 seconds behind the breakaway on stage one of the Tour of Qatar.

Taking to Twitter afterwards, he thanked his Omega Pharma Quickstep team mates for looking after him 'superbly', after the riders were buffeted by strong crosswinds.

Meanwhile, Onchan resident Ben Swift secured a solid third-placed finish at the Trofeo Palma yesterday.

He was helped by Sir Bradley Wiggins, who played a key supporting role in his first competitive outing of the season to aid his Team Sky colleague.

Swift ended up coming in behind winner Kenny Dehaes and second-placed Tyler Farrar.

The Trofeo Palma the first race of the four-day Mallorca Challenge