Cavendish began his 2012 season at the Tour of Qatar. After recovering from illness, he won stage three—his first victory for Team Sky. He won stage five later in the week, moving back into the top ten of the overall classification. He finished the race in sixth place, despite crashing on the final stage. Although he did not win any stages at the Tour of Oman, having suffered an injury in the first stage, he returned to win the Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. Cavendish targeted a second victory in Milan–San Remo in March, but was dropped on "Le Manie", from the finish. He did not manage to finish high up in the remaining 2012 Classics. In the Tour de Romandie, he showed his ability in short time trials by finishing third in the prologue but did not take any stage wins.