Mark Cavendish exclusion from the Tour de France is a slap in the face for cycling and a smack in the chops for history.
The Manx missile was left out of QuickStep Alpha Vinyl's eight-man squad for Le Tour, which begins in Copenhagen on Friday, leaving him stranded on 34 career stage wins – level with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx. Although QuickStep's decision to stick with in-form flying Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen is no surprise, the decision to deny Cavendish a shot at immortality – and defend the Green Jersey he won last year – is a crying shame.
Even if he makes the start line next year, Cavendish will be 38, and Father Time would have to deal him a generous hand to overhaul Merckx in the record books outright.
Cavendish has been named as a first reserve, and will stay in Denmark on standby until Friday's Grand Depart (an individual time trial), but that will be as cruel as former Bullseye host Jim Bowen showing crestfallen contestants what they could have won.
He was called up at the last minute last year, when team-mate Sam Bennett withdrew due to a knee injury, and seized his chance by winning four stages on his first appearance at Le Tour since 2018. But Cavendish's spectacular, last-gasp bid for a reprieve – a brilliant ride in wind and rain to win his second British national road race title on Sunday – came too late to force QuickStep general manager Patrick Lefevere's hand.
Cavendish said: "You can see my condition, that I'm good enough to do the Tour. I know if I went, I'd win [a stage].
"I feel so much better than last year and you know what happened last year... I won four stages at the Tour de France and the (sprinters') Green Jersey."
