Mark Cavendish (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) has been confirmed as one of the numerous sprinters taking part in this year's Tour de Pologne, which will begin on July 30 and conclude August 5.
Cavendish has not raced since taking the British National Championships in June and then missing out on the Tour de France following his non-selection by his current squad, QuickStep-AlphaVinyl.
Since then, it's emerged that Cavendish will not continue with the Belgian squad in 2023, although it's yet to be discovered where he might race next season.
So far this season, Cavendish has taken five wins, including a stage of the Giro d'Italia and a stage of the UAE Tour.
In a QuickStep-AlphaVinyl press release, Sports Director Geert Van Bondt commented on the team's approach to the seven-day stage race in Poland, saying that Cavendish would have Bert van Lerberghe, Zdenek Stybar and Josef Cerny as support, while Mauro Schmid and Mauri Vansevenant could go for the overall. Meanwhile, Rémi Cavagna will be looking to repeat his victory in last year's Tour de Pologne time trial on stage 6.
“It’s a beautiful Tour of Poland with chances for every type of rider. The first two stages will be sprint stages, where we have Mark ready to fight for a good result, with Bert, Zdenek and Josef there to support him; then the third stage is the same as last year with the steep 1.5km uphill finish which will reshuffle the standings, where Mauro and Mauri could be in the mix,” Van Bondt stated.
“Stage four and five can maybe come down to a bunch sprint or maybe not, they can also be for the puncheurs, but even the breakaway will have a chance there. In the stage six individual time trial, we’ll look to Rémi and Mauro for a good result, as the latter proved he can do well in this discipline.
"Finally, the last stage should be again one for the sprinters, but it will all depend on how the GC teams will race it.”
Cavendish has raced twice previously in the Tour de Pologne, with his best result a sixth place on a stage in 2019, and he will form part of a formidable line-up of sprinters in this year's event.
Contenders in the 79th edition of Poland's only WorldTour race also include Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates), Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe).
