Abu Dhabi Tour: Mark Cavendish third as Giacomo Nizzolo wins

Giacomo Nizzolo won the opening stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour

Mark Cavendish had to settle for third place as Italy's Giacomo Nizzolo sprinted to victory on the opening stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour and took the overall lead.

Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) led out the sprint and held off runner-up John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) in Madinat Zayed to claim his seventh win of the year.

Cavendish (Dimension Data) lost ground going into the final corner and although he made his way back forward in time for the sprint, he was still too far adrift to threaten Nizzolo.

There were two Britons in the top five, after Chris Latham (WIGGINS) finished just behind Cavendish and fourth-placed Magnus Cort Nielsen (Orica-BikeExchange).

Ten, six and four bonus seconds were on offer to the first three finishers, meaning Nizzolo now leads the general classification by four seconds from second-placed Degenkolb and six seconds from third-placed Cavendish.

The Abu Dhabi Tour is being held for only the second time

Cavendish said: "I was too far back on the last corner, and so by the time I tried to move up, there were riders all over the road and I just had to pedal behind them. It was my fault; I was too far behind."

Nizzolo added: "It means a lot. To start this way is the best way. I asked my team to put me in a good place with 1km to go, because I knew there was a roundabout at 700m. I was well-placed and, from there, I managed by myself. We don't have ambition for the GC [general classification], but tomorrow we will try to defend the jersey in the sprint."

The four-day race continues on Friday with a flat, 115km second stage in central Abu Dhabi. Find out more about the route in our race guide.

Stage one result

1 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, 3:15:59
2 John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin, same time
3 Mark Cavendish (GB) Dimension Data, st
4 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-BikeExchange, st
5 Chris Latham (GB) WIGGINS, st
6 Michael Kolar (Svk) Tinkoff, st
7 Roman Maikin (Rus) RusVelo, st
8 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, st
9 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing, st
10 Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Giant-Alpecin, st

General classification

1 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, 3:15:49
2 John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin, +4sec
3 Mark Cavendish (GB) Dimension Data, +6
4 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-BikeExchange, +7
5 Dion Smith (NZ) ONE Pro Cycling, +9
6 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) Orica-BikeExchange, +10
7 Chris Latham (GB) WIGGINS, same time
8 Michael Kolar (Svk) Tinkoff, st
9 Roman Maikin (Rus) RusVelo, st
10 Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, st