CAVENDISH DISAPPOINTED AFTER MISSING OUT IN GIRO D'ITALIA SPRINT

Mark Cavendish was deeply disappointed not to win Grio stage 12 in Carpi.

His late acceleration proved he is the fastest sprinter in the final 100 metres of the Giro sprints but he again lost out to Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) due to a slight mistake in the finale.

?I thought the final corner was much tighter and so didn?t dive into it. The race manual showed it was really tight and so I eased off a bit,? he admitted to Cycling Weekly after the sprint.

?Bennati didn?t and I quickly realised it wasn?t that bad but by then I was 20 metres behind him. I gave it everything and almost got him but he just held on.?

After watching the sprint on television, Cavendish considered making an appeal against the judges decision but changed his mind when he saw the photo finish, which showed clearly that Bennati won by three centimetres.

?If the finish line had been five metres further on, I?d have got him, but unfortunately it wasn?t,? Cavendish said.

Cavendish?s High Road team did a near-perfect job in the run-in to the centre of Carpi.

Bradley Wiggins set a high pace for the final kilometre and then Cavendish let the other sprinters go to the front, confident his late speed would take him past them all.

Just like before his winning sprint in Catanzaro, Cavendish tried to inspire his team mates with a strong pre-race talk on the team bus.

?I spoke to the lads this morning and told them that were the best team in the world and we showed that in the finale today," he told Cycling Weekly.

?Other teams tried to come next to us but we just lifted the pace and held them off. That showed how good we are now. We rode on the front because we knew it went from a wide road to a narrow and back again. We needed just one more guy there in the end - I wouldn?t have needed to panic and I could have gone full gas at the end.?

?It?s tough when it?s that close and you lose but I?ll try and win tomorrow in Cittadella.?

The 177km stage from Modena to Cittadella is the last flat stage before the Giro heads into the Dolomites.

Cavendish knows it is his last chance to take another stage win. Do not bet against him winning by several metres to make sure the judges know who is the fastest sprinter in the Giro d?Italia.

GIRO D'ITALIA 2008: STAGE REPORTS

Stage 12: Bennati gets photo finish verdict over Cavendish

Stage 11: Bertolini wins hilly stage

Stage 10: Bruseghin wins Giro d'Italia time trial

Stage nine: Cavendish misses out in sprint

Stage eight: Ricco wins again

Stage seven: Di Luca, Ricco and Contador gain time on rivals

Stage six: Italians clean upStage five: Millar denied by snapped chain

Stage four: Cavendish wins

Stage three: Bennati romps home

Stage two: Ricco wins Giro d'Italia second stage

Stage one TTT: Slipstream wins Giro team time trial

GIRO D'ITALIA 2008: NEWS

Can Cavendish win the Giro today? [stage 12]

Aggressive Cummings comes away empty handed [stage six]

Millar speaks out after missing out in Giro [stage five]

Reaction to Cavendish's Giro stage win

Cav hits back at Pozzato's snipe

Cavendish: This is my biggest win [stage four]

Millar celebrates Slipstream Giro d'Italia success

Bettini looking for final Giro glory

Astana's troubled build-up to the Giro

Petacchi banned for Salbutamol positive

Yates and Astana make last minute rush to Giro

GIRO D'ITALIA 2008: PHOTOS

Giro d'Italia 2008: Photo gallery, week two - new photos added daily

Giro d'Italia 2008: Photo gallery, week one.

GIRO D'ITALIA 2008: FEATURES

Giro d'Italia 2008: Rest day review (May 19)

Rest day 1: How the favourites are doing

Giro Britannia part two: From rule Britannia to cruel Britannia

Tuesday Comment (May 13): Why Cavendish is a bona fide world-class star

Giro Britannia: how the Brits are doing in Italy

Giro d'Italia 2008 preview

Giro d'Italia 2008: who will win?

Giro d'Italia 2008: The British are coming

Giro d'Italia on Eurosport: TV schedule