Cavendish heads to Belgium and France one-day races after missing Worlds

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Following his return to racing at the Tour of Britain, Mark Cavendish continues his comeback from the shoulder he injured at the Tour de France on stage 4 with three consecutive one-day races this weekend.

The Briton, who withdrew himself from Worlds selection, will line up with his Dimension Data team at Friday's Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen, followed by the Primus Classic Impanis - Van Petegem, and Grand Prix d'Isbergues-Pas de Calais Sunday.

Cavendish won the Worlds in 2011 and was the silver medallist from Doha 2016 and was aiming to contest the September 24 race in Bergen.

"I am gutted to say I won't be representing Great Britain this year at World Road Championships in Bergen, Norway," he wrote. "It was a goal I'd set to try and win this year, on a course that suits me at my peak and the strength in depth we have in the Great Britain Cycling Team.

"Unfortunately, I am still struggling with the broken shoulder I sustained from the crash at this years Tour de France, so withdrew myself as an option for selection last week. As always, I'll be supporting all my friends and colleagues as they strive for our next World Champ stripes after Lizzie's dominant ride in Richmond, 2 years ago. Good luck to you all and stay safe x."

Regular leadout men Mark Renshaw and Bernie Eisel will accompany Cavendish for the 1.HC and two 1.1 races with Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Ryan Gibbons Johann van Zyl, and Nic Dougall also crucial for the finals of the races. Adrien Niyonshuti completes the team which will be unchanged for the three races.

"We have three nice but tough races coming up this weekend. Sprints may have decided these races in the past but you will notice it's never the complete peloton at the line so tactically we must be good," sport director JP Heynderickx said. "As single day events, you only get one shot to pull off the victory so that creates its own kind of pressure but that also means we have 3 good opportunities this weekend to win. For sure everyone will look to Cavendish as a threat but I think we have numerous options with guys like Janse van Rensburg, Gibbons and Renshaw too, so that puts us in a good position to have such a strong team."

At the Tour of Britain, Cavendish's best result came in the stage five time trial when he placed 61st. He was a DNF on the eighth and final stage.