Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) will return to racing next week for the first time since his Tour de France stage one crash.
The Manxman, who suffered a separated shoulder when he fell just 150 metres from the Harrogate finish line, has been included in the Belgian super team’s squad for the five-day Tour de l’Ain.
And Cavendish – who will miss RideLondon as expected – is keen to prove his fitness, with his schedule for the the rest of the season to be decided on how he fares in the French race.
“Tour de l’Ain will be important to see where I am at with my training and recovery from my injury, and also as a bit of a test at competition pace,” he said.
“The rest of my programme will be decided 100 per cent after Tour de l’Ain depending on how I feel during that race. Together with the team we will then discuss how to approach the rest of my season.
“Unfortunately I am not able to participate in Prudential Ride London Classic, which is an amazing race and I would have liked the opportunity to race next year.
“At the moment, with the two races being so close together on the calendar, I need to focus on completing my specific block of training in Italy before returning to competition at the Tour de l’Ain shortly after.”
He added: “I want to wish good luck to all the riders participating in Prudential Ride London Classic. I think it will be a wonderful event given the amazing support for cycling in the UK.
“I was so proud of what I saw from the public in the opening stage of the Tour and I wish I could be there to race in front of my British supporters. I will do my best to be there next year.”
Cavendish is on the provisional start list for the Vuelta a Espana, and will be joined in France for the Tour de l’Ain by Giro d’Italia runner-up Rigoberto Uran, who also hopes to start the season’s final Grand Tour. Julian Alaphilippe, Gianni Meersman, Pieter Serry and Carlos Verona complete the Omega Pharma-QuickStep line-up for the Tour de l’Ain.
And directeur sportif Davide Bramati believes the varied parcours of the race will provide the ideal preparation for the final part of the season.
“At Tour de l’Ain you can find a bit of everything,” he said. “There will be a prologue, up and down stages for the climbers, and more. So, it’s the perfect race for many riders to open up the second part of the season.”
Despite Cavendish’s absence in London, Omega Pharma-Quickstep will still enjoy British representation in the form of Scottish Commonwealth Games rider Andy Fenn.
Fenn will ride as part of a sprint-heavy six-man squad alongside Alaphilippe, Alessandro Petacchi, Mark Renshaw, Gert Steegmans and Stijn Vandenbergh.
