Mark Cavendish was one of the top contenders in a field of sprinters at the Bruges des Pins classics.

Mark Cavendish had to stand his ground with 200 meters to go when the lead group of Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl, which had dominated the race 12 months earlier, broke away.

Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Phoenix), the winner, said the chaos was "beyond description. The last few kilometers were further complicated by the fall of Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates).

Cavendish was not available to reporters on the De Panne team bus, but lead-out Mikhail Molkov told Cycling News that positioning was a factor.

"The sprint was obviously confusing. Cav and I had to run a little bit away from each other and we got surrounded a little bit. I knew it would be hard to come from behind."

Although the Quick-Step website states that Ackermann's crash dampened Cavendish's chances, the former world champion was unscathed, and even though he was a long way from the front, he seemed to pass in the same position as the leader before the corner. Cavendish appears to have passed in the same position as the leader before the corner, even if he was a long way off the lead.

There were attempts to move Cavendish up the order, but they were unsuccessful. Jannik Steimle took second place, and Bert van Lerberghe began to move up the order with 1km to go. Initially, Morcove and Cavendish followed the Belgian, but as Van Lerberghe reached the front, Morcove and Cavendish dropped back.

From there, Steimle and Vanlerberghe went about their normal lead-out business, perhaps unaware that the sprinter and the last rider had separated a few places down the pack. As Steimle broke away from the pack, he looked around and tapped his handlebars in frustration.

Vanlerberghe then effectively led the sprint. Cavendish followed at first, but at the 250-meter mark Cavendish got up and held on. Morkov eventually crossed the finish line in 12th place, the team leader.

"Cavendish was squeezed so he didn't have a chance," Morkov said. 'It was a tough race today and a very difficult finish. In the end it wasn't our race

"The atmosphere on the bus is not good. It was clearly better than last year when we won. I am disappointed."