Mark Cavendish on the podium after winning stage 6 at Tirreno-Adriatico, the British champion's second win thus far in the 2014 season(Image credit: Sirotti)
Stage 6 winner Mark Cavendish celebrates his victory with teammate Alessandro Petacchi, who placed second on the day(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma - QuickStep) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
The Omega Pharma-Quick Step team has confirmed that Mark Cavendish will not ride this year's Giro d'Italia and instead will prepare for the Tour de France by riding the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Suisse.
Cavendish is targeting the first stage of the Tour de France but has suffered with illness since Milan-San Remo. He will ride the Tour of Turkey (April 27-May 4) before heading to the USA.
"I'm sure passing through the Tour of Turkey, and a great, well organized race like Tour of California will get me in shape and ready for the Tour de Suisse, which will be my final tune-up for the Tour de France."
Cavendish will be joined by frequent training partner and lead out man Alessandro Petacchi at the Tour of Turkey, while the veteran Italian will ride the Giro d'Italia with Rigoberto Uran the team leader for the first Grand Tour of the season.
Cavendish won five stages and the red points jersey at the 2013 Giro d'Italia. However finishing the three-week race left him jaded for the Tour de France. He still won two stages in France but Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) emerged as the most successful sprinter of the Tour de France, winning four stages, including the first in Olbia to take the yellow jersey, and the final sprint on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Development Manager Rolf Aldag explained the reasons why Omega Pharma-Quick Step has opted to have Cavendish ride the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Suisse rather than the Giro d'Italia.
"With the sickness Mark had, we had to reshape his calendar a little bit. It's a shame because Mark showed how strong he was at Milano-San Remo. He could have taken advantage of his condition during the period immediately after that race. But, it is what it is and now we have rebuilt the best approach for Cavendish heading into the Tour," he said.
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"Cav is now training in Italy and will be back at Tour of Turkey with a good, strong team around him. With Tour of Turkey we will open the second part of his season that culminates with the Tour de France."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
