Mark Cavendish wins Tour of Turkey opening stage

Cavendish's victory was his seventh of the season

Mark Cavendish won the opening stage of the Tour of Turkey in a sprint finish.

The Manxman beat Australia's Caleb Ewan and Nicola Ruffoni of Italy to the line by half a wheel at the climax of the 145km stage in Alanya.

It was a seventh win of the season for Cavendish, who will now wear the turquoise leader's jersey on stage two.

"There are a lot of big sprinters at the race so we knew it would be chaotic, and it really was," said the Etixx - Quick-Step rider.

"This is also my first race back after taking some time off. I got sick in South Africa and had to stop and get over the virus. Just to stop and reset everything and to now get going again, it is quite nice.

"I don't think I'm in as good of condition as I could have been without the interruption, but I am definitely happy where I am."