Mark Cavendish failed to deliver a result in the first group sprint of 2023 with his new team "Astana Kazakstan" at the Tour of Oman, but the team put in a solid performance throughout all stages and finishes, leading out the Manxman to victory He suggested that he could provide.

The Kazakhstan team joined forces with Soudal-Quick Step, who finished second to Fernando Gaviria on the only flat stage of the 2023 Tour of Oman, which took the same route as last year's season opener, to hold off an attack.

Estonian Martin Lars led Cavendish for the first time. Cavendish, who came through the chaos of the last few kilometers unscathed, said after the race, "I may have made a few mistakes to get the perfect lead out."

Cavendish finished 21st, but the team gained a lot for the upcoming sprint races.

"I think the stage itself went well, as we were able to control the race together with Quick Step," team sport director Stefano Zanini told Cycling News after the race. [especially Boaro was very good. Boaro in particular was very good. He did a great job that people watching on TV will never see. It was a good ride until the last kilometer, until the last curve with 500 meters to go. I have nothing but praise for the team. If we start like this we will have a good result."

Cavendish praised his new team in a brief pre-stage interview.

"The team has a really good atmosphere. The group sprint here is new for the team, but there is no pressure," he told Tour of Oman.

"I was second in this stage and I know the finish. Lutsenko has two wins here, so obviously GC is important, but let's give it a try."

Cavendish had nothing to say after the finish, but Lars noted the good and bad points of their performance.

"It was mostly under control until the last, but the last 4km were sketchy, and I ran perfectly with the team, but from 3km to 1km it was a real, real clusterfuck and we lost each other a bit," Lars said.

"We managed to get back together and did a pretty good job in the final, but in the end we messed up a little bit in the lead-out to get the perfect run.

"But I did my best, and it was my first race with Cav, and we were basically together in training. So in the end it takes a little bit of time, but I think it went well today."

Cavendish and his team will work with former two-time champion Alexey Lutsenko and his GC contenders on the four hilly stages of the Tour of Oman before heading to the UAE Tour next week.