Cavendish instrumental as Bahrain-McLaren reign supreme in Saudi Tour

Manxman plays a key role in Phil Bauhaus’s victory

- Jonny Long

While Bahrain-McLaren’s new strip incidentally paid homage to the setting of the Middle Eastern sun behind the final podium at the Saudi Tour, the mood around Mark Cavendish’s team, who had a rider on the top step, is more reminiscent of a new dawn.

Two stage wins and an overall victory will go down in the record books under Phil Bauhaus’s name, but it was truly a team effort that delivered the WorldTour squad their first victories under the stewardship of Rod Ellingworth.

Cavendish proved pivotal in much of this, and while the 34-year-old arrived in Saudi Arabia as the team’s main focus, circumstances intervened.