he won the points classification for the second time in his career, ten years after his first win in 2011. Cavendish was backed by the "strongest sprint train in the race" with Michael Mørkøv as his lead-out man. Cavendish's 2021 season was abruptly ended by a crash in the final Madison session of the Six Days of Ghent track event. Cavendish was closely following world Madison champion Lasse Norman Hansen, behind Gerben Thijssen and Kenny De Ketele when Thijssen slipped on a damp patch on the track sending De Ketele up the banking to sweep away Hansen's front wheel, bringing down both Hansen and Cavendish. Cavendish was taken to the intensive care unit of Ghent University Hospital suffering from broken ribs and a punctured lung. In December, Cavendish extended his contract at for another year. 2022 Cavendish opened his season in the Middle East with the at the Tour of Oman. He finished second to Fernando Gaviria on the opening stage, but the following day he won the sprint for stage 2, taking the lead in both the general and points classifications. He finished the six-day event in fourth place in the points classification following a points deduction after stage 5, and being blocked by Maximiliano Richeze in the sprint for stage 6. Later in February, Cavendish won stage 2 of the UAE Tour. In March, Cavendish became the first British cyclist to win the Italian classic Milano–Torino. After racing at an average speed of over a new course from Magenta to Rivoli, Cavendish out-sprinted Nacer Bouhanni and Alexander Kristoff to take his first victory in Italy since a stage win at the 2014 Tirreno–Adriatico. In May, Cavendish contested the Giro d'Italia for the first time since 2013, and he won the third stage of the race in Hungary, his 16th Giro stage win. This win gave him 53 career Grand Tour stage wins, bringing him within four of Mario Cipollini and eleven of Eddy Merckx for the most Grand Tour stage wins of all-time. He took two further podium finishes during the race, and ultimately finished third in the points classification, behind Arnaud Démare and Gaviria. The following month, Cavendish won his second British National Road Race Championships title in Castle Douglas, nine years after he won his first title in Glasgow. The following month, his general manager Patrick Lefevere advised that his contract would not be extended beyond