Muscat: British sprinter Mark Cavendish has acclaimed Australian teammate Matt Goss after picking up his first victory of the year in Sunday's sixth and final stage of the Tour of Oman.

Cavendish had helped Goss to a victory in stage two after which he wore the race leader's red jersey for two days, and said the Tasmanian had repaid him well.

''He's there every day, you know - he was there the other day,'' Cavendish said, referring to stage one in which the Briton was second and just pipped by the tall Dutch sprinter Theo Bos (Rabobank).

Cavendish said that he and Goss had finished the tour - won overall by Dutchman Robert Gesink - with a stage win apiece was a fitting end to a week in which they each sacrificed for the other.

Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) gave his rivals every reason to expect that he will be in the fray in the first major one-day classic of the year - the Milan-San Remo on March 19.

On Sunday, on a lightning-fast run to the finish that had a slight bend and with a strong tailwind behind the riders, the peloton absolutely flew across the line.

Finishing well clear of the pack was Cavendish, who has repeatedly said in the past fortnight that he is in tip-top shape despite a lack of wins.

To secure his maiden victory for the year, Cavendish beat Russian Denis Galimzyanov (Katusha) and Italian Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini-Neri).

His joy and relief at breaking through for that first success was clear for all to see.

''It's good - I've been on form,'' Cavendish said after the 157-kilometre stage from Qurayyat to Mattrah Seafront, where the peloton raced over eight laps of a 6km circuit. ''I've been on for four weeks. I've been on target all week. It's good to get that build-up for Milan-San Remo … I'm excited.''

As Cavendish said after Sunday's stage in which Dutchman Gesink (Rabobank) secured the overall victory by one minute, 13 seconds over Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), his teammates played a big role. He did not waste time before praising Goss, 24th overall, for his lead-out. In the finishing sprint, Cavendish anticipated world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) would try to follow Goss when the Tasmanian launched his final effort. ''He did an incredible job,'' Cavendish said. ''He went and I left a gap for Thor on his wheel. I thought if I went with him [Hushovd] then I'd be on his first wheel [for the sprint]. But no one went with him and that left a slipstream … ''