Mark Cavendish did not contest the finishing sprint as he returned to racing after a three-month absence at the Tour of Slovenia.
Ireland's Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) won the 159.4km stage from Koper to Kocevje.
The Manxman finished 10th, nine places ahead of Australian Dimension Data teammate Mark Renshaw.
Cavendish was ahead of a late crash which fractured the peloton, but was never in contention on the narrow finish as Bennett won.
The 32-year-old Manxman opted not to launch his sprint. The four-day race concludes on Sunday as Cavendish seeks to prove his fitness ahead of the Tour de France.
The 30-times Tour stage winner was racing for the first time since the Milan-San Remo one-day race on March 18.
He was diagnosed with glandular fever, caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, in April and made a gradual return to training.
The Tour begins in Dusseldorf on July 1 and concludes in Paris on July 23, with Cavendish bidding to move closer to Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins.
Cavendish is scheduled to race in the British Championships on the Isle of Man on June 25.
He wrote on Twitter: "Back racing @TourOfSlovenia today. Was always about testing my fitness over a result. Great job by @TeamDiData, but I couldn't finish it off."
Teammate Bernhard Eisel was encouraged by Cavendish's showing.
"They (Cavendish and lead-out man Renshaw) came around the last corner in 10th, 12th position and that was just too far down to win," he said.
"However, there is still another chance for a sprint stage and it was really good to see Cavendish motivated and ready to sprint. Let's see what the next days will bring."
Share
