Mark Cavendish in dreamland coming into Tour de France

Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep)
Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep) (Image credit: Getty Images)

Mark Cavendish has described his return to the Tour de France as a dream after his surprise call-up to the Deceuninck-QuickStep squad. Cavendish was set to miss the Tour de France but an injury to Sam Bennett meant that the Irishman was dropped from the eight-man team with Cavendish taking his spot.

A 30-time stage winner in the race, Cavendish has missed the last two editions, but after a spring in which he won five races the veteran looks in prime condition to add to his incredible tally, especially given the fact that there are up to eight potential stage wins for the sprinters in this year’s race.

“It’s already more than a dream to be here at the Tour de France with Deceuninck-QuickStep. Eighty per cent of the peloton dream of getting a start with this team and if I had sat here a year ago and thought I’d have been in this spot… I have some belief but even that I wouldn’t have believed.

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Daniel Benson

Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.