Mark Cavendish finished safely within the time limit on the summit of Etna and carefully tuned up for the first mountain stage of the 2022 Giro d'Italia.

Cavendish will be particularly eager to win Wednesday's stage 5, when teammate Fabio Jacobsen starts the Tour de Hongri. The opening stage could be a sprint affair, giving both Quick-Step-Alfa Vinyl sprinters a chance to shine and qualify for the Tour de France.

Cavendish, perhaps trying to save as much leg time as possible for the Messina sprint, finished 35:51 behind stage winner Leonard Kemuna (Bora-Hansgrohe). Jakub Maletko (Alpecin-Phoenix), in particular, suffered at the back, riding alone for most of the stage and ultimately abandoning the Giro.

Like Maletzko, Cavendish suffered on the hills for an hour after the Avola, but was protected and escorted by his teammates and was able to return to the peloton on the flat section in the middle of the stage. He then picked up the pace on the 22.8 km climb up the lava-covered slopes of Mount Etna to the finish.

Encouraged by the Manxman's sprint victory in Hungary, Cavendish and Quick-Step Alphavinir are looking forward to more victories in the future.

The 174-km fifth stage includes the Portella Mandrazzi climb north of Mount Etna after 75 km. However, the final 80 km are on flat roads around the Sicilian cape before heading south to finish in Messina. Stage 6, from Palmi to Scalea, follows a similar course along the Calabrian coastline for 192 km.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Cavendish called his former sprint rival and now Italian national coach Daniele Bennati, and the Messina finish was won by Fernando Gaviria, who was with Quick Step He confirmed that it was the same as in 2018.

The Manxman's victory in Balatonfured was his 160th career win, his 16th stage victory in the Giro d'Italia, and his 53rd stage victory in a Grand Tour. Cavendish is the most successful active rider of all time. He is fifth all-time, behind only Eddy Merckx, who has won a total of 283 races. However, he is only two wins behind second place Rick Van Roy and one win ahead of Mario Cipollini and Roger De Vlaeminck.

Cavendish has the full backing of Quick-Step Alfa Vinyl on the road to Messina and Scalea, and could move up the all-time wins list.

"There are no true GC contenders in this year's Giro, but we have a really good sprinter in Mark and a great team to support him. We've brought our best riders for the lead-out and some riders for stage wins," team coach Vassilis Anastopoulos explained on Tuesday.

"Mark came to the Giro in top condition. We did a 10-day training camp together in Greece, where he responded really well. We have data from last year, when we had the same training camp in the same place just before his success in the Tour, and all the information was really positive."

Cavendish has a close bond with Anastopoulos and credits the Greek coach with helping him return to his best in 2021 after suffering from Epstein-Barr virus and depression during his time with Dimension Data.

"The relationship between Mark and I, athlete and trainer, is multifaceted," Anastopoulos revealed.

"Kav has his own ideas, but he is fair and demands what he deserves. In the beginning, before he joined the team, maybe people thought he didn't have an easy personality, but he has a big heart"

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"Now Mark and I just look at each other and talk, we don't have to use words. We communicate with our eyes. I know what to say in different situations."

"We worked on his sprinting ability as well as his endurance and ability to survive long climbs. He is lighter, stronger, and faster than he was last year. He was relaxed before the Giro because he knew all the work was done.