Mark Cavendish was just beaten in the Scatch Race in the International Belgian Open track meeting in Ghent.
Cavendish, who will ride in the Tour Of Britain, had entered the competition in order to get some UCI points that will allow him to compete in the track world cups and ultimately, the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Cavendish was always in contention in this fifteen kilometre race and was on the front at the bell. He lead going into the final straight but was beaten by a matter of inches by Holland's Wim Stroetinga, whom the Manx man used to ride against as a junior and U23 rider.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Cavendish who will ride the Madison with Owain Doull on Saturday said: "I'm happy. Wim's strong, he used to beat me as a junior, and in the under-23s, it was always me and him first and second. I felt alright. Ignoring the result, I got what I wanted out of it.
"I was a little bit nervous. "I didn't know what to expect. I've always been able to drop in to the track but the other day I didn't have great sensations and I wondered if because I was a little bit older I might struggle to adapt. But I was okay today."