Mark Cavendish’s first race in the rainbow jersey is likely to be Paris-Tours on October 9 after race organisers ASO confirmed the Manx Missile on the start list.
- Mark Cavendish will return to action with HTC-Highroad on October 9
Cavendish became the first Brit to win the World Championships since Tom Simpson in 1965 with a perfectly-timed sprint in Copenhagen on Sunday.
The 26-year-old will return to action with HTC-Highroad for the French sprinters’ classic, with team-mates Bernhard Eisel, John Degenkolb and Matt Goss, who Cavendish beat to world gold, also confirmed.
Cavendish will be bidding to become the first rainbow jersey to triumph at Paris-Tours, but faces competition from a strong start list that currently includes two-time winner Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), last year’s victor Oscar Freire (Rabobank), 2010 world champion Thor Hushovd (Norway) and Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM).
“Where Tom Boonen failed in 2005, just like Oscar Freire the previous year, Cavendish could become the first world champion to triumph in his new jersey on the famous Grammont Avenue,” said an ASO spokesman.
The 105th edition of Paris-Tours will be run over a pan-flat 230km course, with the shortened finishing straight now just 660m in length.
