Mark Cavendish continued High Road's winning streak by claiming the kickoff to the Tour de Romandie on Tuesday.

The Brit won the 1.9km prologue in 2:07:60 ahead of Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), who was given the same time. Michael Albasini (Liquigas) rounded out the podium at one second back.

“It was the perfect distance for me, if it had been longer it would have been more Bradley’s type of time trial.” said Cavendish, who averaged 56.425kph over the short route. “I went all out from the start, when it’s that short there wasn’t much point in doing anything else, with it being hardly two kilometers it’s just like a sprint. I was just hoping I could maintain that speed all the way through right to the end. The wind was very strong on the return part. Like a wall”

“That meant the last 500 meters were really tough, though," he said. "I had gone in so deep that I thought I might crash.”

“We didn’t bother using references to other riders times during the prologue because it was such a short distance. It was just a question of going as fast as possible and seeing what happened.” added directeur sportif Tristan Hoffman.

“The course was perfect for Mark," he added. "(It's) urban, flat and not too technical, just a few minor corners so he could use all his power. The weather was ideal for the top guys as well - warm and dry.”

BMC's Brent Bookwalter was the top American in 47th place at 0:05.