Cavendish confirmed for Tour de France after glandular fever

Russell Greaves

Cavendish confirmed for Tour de France after glandular fever image

Mark Cavendish has been confirmed in Team Dimension Data's Tour de France line-up after recovering from glandular fever.

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The Briton only recently returned to action following the illness, which sidelined him for three months.

Cavendish is a 30-time stage winner at the Tour and joins compatriots Steve Cummings and Scott Thwaites on a nine-man team.

"It's been a difficult few months for me on the back of the illness that set me back earlier on in the season," said the 32-year-old.

"Despite this setback and my lack of race time I've worked incredibly hard both to ensure I could firstly recover from the illness as well as then aiming to build my fitness up as much as possible in order to start the Tour. 

"If I am being totally honest, had this not been the Tour de France we may have collectively taken a different approach with regards to my inclusion, but I feel that I owe it to myself, the team, our sponsors and most importantly to the Tour itself given its history and everything that it stands for – as well as the emotional attachment I have for it – to give it my best and to put everything I have in to trying to help the team."

Dimension Data's selection is completed by Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Jaco Venter, Serge Pauwels, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Bernhard Eisel and Mark Renshaw.

The Tour's opening stage is on July 1, starting in Dusseldorf.

Russell Greaves