Wearing the green jersey of the points competition leader,
Cavendish crossed the finish line in Salamanca a length ahead of Argentine Juan
Jose Haedo and Portugal's Manuel Cardoso.
But despite his clear victory, the HTC-Columbia rider said
he had experienced a fraught moment with three kilometres to go, which only
Velits's quick response had resolved.
"There was a moment when I suddenly lost 50 or 60
places and I panicked," Cavendish told reporters.
"I shouted across to Peter and he did a massive turn of
about a kilometer or so, guiding me up the side of the bunch back to where I
needed to be.
"He's fighting for the overall victory but he was still
prepared to use up a lot of energy for me. That shows real commitment to the
team and it takes a very special person to do that. I can't thank him
enough."
On a quiet day for the overall favorites, Italian Vincenzo
Nibali remains in the lead ahead of Spain's Ezequiel Mosquera, with Velits third.
Cavendish said the slightly uphill finish in the heart of
Salamanca's city center had been made tougher because he did not know which
gear to use.
"I changed gear about five times in 500 metres because
I was working out whether to do it all on power or on pure speed," he
said.
"I had to power after (Australian team mate) Matt Goss
and finally with 180 metres to go, I went for it.
"If I had the strength to get this win, it was all
thanks to the work the team did."
Cavendish said after the Tour of Spain and the world
championships in Melbourne on Oct. 3, he would ride the Commonwealth Games road
race a week later in Delhi as his last race of the season.
"There will be a great group of guys riding for the
Isle of Man and it's not often I get to ride wearing that jersey. I'm looking
forward to that," he said.
