Cavendish had a slow start to 2011 failing to win a race until late February when he won stage six of the Tour of Oman. His second victory of the season came in the Scheldeprijs—his third in this event following his wins in 2007 and 2008—bringing him to the record tied with Piet Oellibrandt. He failed to finish at the Paris–Roubaix. He came second in the second stage of the Giro d'Italia in contentious circumstances (Cavendish gestured at winner Petacchi for appearing to move across his path in the final sprint) to take the pink jersey into stage three. Cavendish got his first grand tour victory of the year by winning stage ten of the Giro, denying claims that he had illegally held on to his team car when climbing Mount Etna on stage nine. He won his second Giro victory of 2011 on stage twelve before leaving the race. On 11 June, it was announced that Cavendish was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours.