Cavendish pulls out of World Championships due to shoulder injury

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The Great Britain team have confirmed that Mark Cavendish has been forced to withdraw from the UCI Road World Championships following an injury that he sustained at the Tour of Britain. Cavendish hit a parked car during stage 6 of the race, which sent him over the handlebars and he subsequently landed on his shoulder.

While Cavendish had not suffered any serious injuries, he has been unable to put weight on his shoulder, which has prevented him training properly. Cavendish won the world title in 2011 in Copenhagen and was considered a possible contender for richmond that suits Classics riders and sprinters. 

"It’s a real blow for Mark to have to pull out of this year’s race as we thought he had a great chance of being successful. Unfortunately the injury he sustained during last week’s Tour of Britain is more serious than we had hoped. We wish him well in his recovery,” said Great Britain Cycling Team, Technical director Shane Sutton.

Speaking to the Cyclingnews Podcast at the presentation of the Abu Dhabi Tour jerseys, Cavendish said that he was worried about the serious of his injury. "I am bit nervous actually about my shoulder. It’s not like it was at the Tour de France last year but they think it’s worse than initially feared so I am going to get it checked out on Friday and if it’s not that much better,” Cavendish told Cyclingnews. “I am still on the home trainer at the moment. I can’t really get on the road with it, I can’t put any weight on it."

“It’s a problem with the AC joint, nothing is broken but with the joint there has been a displacement. At the Tour I had a grade four separation, which meant that all three of the ligaments had ruptured and it needed surgery. This doesn’t need surgery but it’s a similar injury to what I had last year and what Tom Boonen had in Paris-Nice.”

Great Britain have not confirmed who will replace Cavendish but Simon Yates is a clear possibility. He and his brother Adam were missed off the initial team, although Great Britain have confirmed that Adam will replace Geraint Thomas who pulled out earlier this week citing fatigue. 

Listen to this week's Cyclingnews podcast, with the full Cavendish interview, below or download it to your device from iTunes, and click here to subscribe to the podcast so you get it first.