Mark Cavendish loses Giro d'Italia lead-out man Mørkøv to illness

ETNA PIAZZALE RIFUGIO SAPIENZA ITALY MAY 10 LR Michael Morkov of Denmark and Mark Cavendish of United Kingdom and Team QuickStep Alpha Vinyl compete during the 105th Giro dItalia 2022 Stage 4 a 172km stage from Avola to Etna Piazzale Rifugio Sapienza 1899m Giro WorldTour on May 10 2022 in Etna Piazzale Rifugio Sapienza Italy Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
Mørkøv riding with Cavendish on stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia to Mount Etna (Image credit: Tim de WaeleGetty Images)

Mark Cavendish will be forced to do without his main lead-out man for the rest of the Giro d'Italia after QuickStep-AlphaVinyl announced that Michael Mørkøv had left the race on Friday morning after developing a fever overnight.

The Dane has a reputation as the top lead-out man in the peloton and has already helped Cavendish to a stage win during the first week of the race. He led the Manxman out for the 160th win of his career on the fast, partly downhill, finish in Balatonfüred on stage 3.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.