Mark Cavendish blamed a combination of illness and a mechanical fault for his below-par showing in the Milan-San Remo on Sunday.

The Etixx-QuickStep rider finished 46th in Italy on Sunday, 23 seconds behind winner John Degenkolb.

Milan-San Remo had been Cavendish's main goal for the first part of the season but the 29-year-old, who has a property in Ongar, was left frustrated.

Speaking afterwards, he said: “I didn't feel good at all. I had nowhere near the form I had a few weeks ago before I got sick."

Addressing the mechanical fault which saw his chain slip off, the 'Manxman' stated: “It crippled me. It didn’t just cost me a little bit, it crippled me. Losing a chain with a K-and-a-half to go [to the top of the climb], you can’t close the gap there.

“A kilometre and half to go on Cipressa, when it was more flat, I had a mechanical. My chain went off. I used some energy I needed with my condition in order to close the gap on the descent," he explained.

“Then, before the start the Poggio, I was behind a rider who lost the wheel in front of him for a moment, and at Milan-San Remo, any gap at all can cost you the race.

“On the Poggio you have to keep moving up and fight for position, and I didn't have the energy to do the accelerations necessary at that point. The combination of how I felt and my energy expenditure catching back to the peloton after my mechanical just put me too far back.”

Giant's Degenkolb won in a time of 6.46.16, with Alexander Kristoff of Katusha and Michael Matthews of Orcia in second and third respectively. 

Next up for Cavendish is the Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, March 29.