Cycling-Cavendish first Briton to win historic Milano-Torino one-day race

(Reuters) - Mark Cavendish won the 103rd Milano-Torino on Wednesday to become the first British winner of the 199-km one-day race, the oldest race on the international calendar first held in 1876.

The 36-year-old Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl Team rider finished with a time of four hours, 31 minutes and 22 seconds -- ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (Team Arkea-Samsic) and Alexander Kristoff (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux).

"I'm particularly happy. This is the perfect team for a one-day race. We never panicked. My team mates did a solid race for me here. This is just incredible the way they've led me out," Cavendish said.

"I like to win any race. I've already won Milan-Sanremo. So now I have won Milano-Torino as well. It's not always a race for sprinters, so I'm happy to have my name on the same record book as some great climbers."

Cavendish enjoyed a remarkable return to form last year, sprinting to four stage wins at the Tour de France to equal the record of 34 set by Belgian great Eddy Merckx.

But a crash in the Six Days of Ghent track meeting in November left the Briton with broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)