Cavendish is second on the all-time list of Tour stage winners
Friday 21 August 2020 16:46, UK
Mark Cavendish will not race at the Tour de France for a second consecutive year after being left out of Bahrain-McLaren's eight-man squad.
Cavendish, 35, is second on the all-time list of Tour stage winners with 30 victories, the last of which came in 2016.
Last year, Cavendish was controversially left out of Team Dimension Data's squad after fighting his way back from the effects of the Epstein-Barr virus, leading to a breakdown in his relationship with the team.
He left to join his former coach Rod Ellingworth at Bahrain-McLaren in the winter with the hope of reigniting his career, but instead the truncated season has left him with few opportunities to race.
Now Cavendish has once again been left out of the Tour, with Bahrain-McLaren instead selecting a team designed to support the yellow jersey ambitions of Spaniard Mikel Landa.
Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have been left out of Team Ineos' squad for the Tour de France.
Four-time Tour de France winner Froome's place in the squad was in doubt after a lack of form, including at the Criterium du Dauphine earlier this month where he finished 71st.
Thomas, who became the first Welshman to win the event in 2018, is another notable absentee, with the team opting to select last year's winner Egan Bernal for their leadership and give 2019 Giro d'Italia champion Richard Carapaz his debut.
Froome, who missed last year's Tour de France due to serious injuries sustained while training for the Criterium du Dauphine last June, was bidding to join all-time greats Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx and Miguel Indurain as a five-time champion of cycling's most prestigious race.
The Tour, rescheduled due to the pandemic, begins next Saturday in Nice.
