Published July 28, 2022 06:15AM
Mark Cavendish to spearhead Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl at Tour of Poland
Sprinter has his first outing since missing out on Tour de France selection.
Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's British rider Mark Cavendish arrives for the start of the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia 2022 cycling race, 156 km from Borgo Valsugana to Treviso, on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Luca Bettini / AFP) (Photo by LUCA BETTINI/AFP via Getty Images)
Mark Cavendish returns to racing this month with the British national road champion set to lead the line for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl at the Tour of Poland (July 30-August 5).
The 37-year-old has not raced since missing out on a spot at the Tour de France and having found out that his contract with Patrick Lefevere’s team will not be renewed for 2023. Cavendish has raced the Tour of Poland twice, in 2019 and 2020, but has yet to win a stage. He heads to Poland with a strong team that includes Zdenek Stybar, Rémi Cavagna and Mauro Schmid.
“It’s a beautiful Tour of Poland with chances for every type of rider. The first two stages will be sprint stages, where we have Mark ready to fight for a good result, with Bert, Zdenek and Josef there to support him; then the third stage is the same as last year with the steep 1.5km uphill finish which will reshuffle the standings, where Mauro and Mauri could be in the mix,” said Geert Van Bondt.
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The Belgian team will look towards the non-sprint stages for wins too before turning its attention back to Cavendish for the last day of racing.
“Stage four and five can maybe come down to a bunch sprint or maybe not, they can also be for the puncheurs, but even the breakaway will have a chance there. In the stage six individual time trial, we’ll look to Rémi and Mauro for a good result, as the latter proved he can do well in this discipline. Finally, the last stage should be again one for the sprinters, but it will all depend on how the GC teams will race it”, the sports director added.
Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl for the Tour of Poland: Rémi Cavagna, Mark Cavendish, Josef Cerny, Mauro Schmid, Zdenek Stybar , Bert Van Lerberghe and Mauri Vansevenant.