Alberto Bettiol won the Milan-Turin one-day cycling race on Wednesday to claim just the fifth victory of his career.

Italian Bettiol made a break to win the race from Rho, near Milan, 30 kilometres from the line in Salassa north of Turin after bursting ahead on the penultimate climb of the day to Prascorsano.

He finished 0.07 seconds ahead of UAE rider Jan Christen as a large chasing group failed to pull him back in time before the end of 177km of racing.

The 30-year-old's last win came in the 2023 Tour Down Under more than a year ago and is a positive sign ahead of the season's first "Monument" race, Milan-San Remo on Saturday.

"It's a nice victory. I'm really proud of winning in Italy and winning one of the most iconic races in the world, the Milan-Turin. I'm really happy," said Bettiol after the race.

Mark Cavendish was forced to abandon the race in a difficult beginning to the season after admitting before the start that he was ill.

Cycling icon Cavendish began the season with a stage win in the Tour Colombia in February but he abandoned the UAE Tour with a fever and disappointed at last week's Tirreno-Adriatico.

The British veteran is gunning for a record-breaking 35th stage at the Tour de France this year after initially announcing that he would retire come the end of last season.