Tour de France 2019: Mark Cavendish left out by Team Dimension Data to miss first Tour since 2006

Thirty-time stage winner is a shock omission from Team Dimension Data’s rider line-up and he was not even mentioned in the official statement

Mark Cavendish has been left out of the Team Dimension Data squad for this year’s Tour de France, meaning he will miss the prestigious race for the first time in 13 years.

The omission of the 34-year-old comes as a major surprise just five days before the Tour gets underway in Brussels, with Team Dimension Data boss Doug Ryder explaining that the decision had been taken not to select the Manxman as he needed riders who are “best suited to meet the team’s objectives”.

Edvald Boasson Hagen, Stephen Cummings, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Michael Valgren, Roman Kreuziger, Giacomo Nizzolo, Ben King and Lars Bak have been selected ahead of 30-time stage winner Cavendish, with both Van Rensburg and Nizzolo taking on the sprint responsibilities and Cummings the only Briton remaining in the South African team.

Cavendish has been struggling with glandular fever for the past two years, having been diagnosed in 2017 and only cleared of the illness in May this year, but his did achieve a third place finish on stage three of the Tour of Turkey in April to suggest he was starting to rediscover his form.

The decision to drop Cavendish is a big one given he is just four stage wins behind all-time great Eddy Merckx’s record of 34, and it was even more telling that the press release announcing the team made no reference to Cavendish.

“Really excited to announce this great group of riders who we feel will be the best suited to meet the team’s objectives we have set out for this year’s Tour de France,” team principal Ryder said. “It’s a tough course but one that we’d like to be competitive in every stage, while at the same time continuing with our goal of changing lives through bicycles.”

Cavendish competed in the Tour of Slovenia last month and then finished 22nd at the British National Championships road race on Sunday.

In 2011, Cavendish became the first Briton to win the green jersey at the Tour after finishing with five stage victories.

His absence leaves just six British cyclists in this year’s Tour, with Cummings joined by the Yates brothers, Adam and Simon – who ride for the Michaelton-Scott team, as well as defending champion Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe (both Team Ineos) and Team Katusha Alpecin’s Alex Dowsett.