British men’s road champion Mark Cavendish will not defend his title in Monmouthshire on Sunday due to illness, with the sprinter saying he does not want to jeopardise his chances at the Tour de France, which starts a week on Saturday.
In a statement issued late yesterday evening, Cavendish’s Omega Pharma-Quick Step team said that he is fighting a bout of bronchitis which began during the closing days of the Tour de Suisse last week, and he will continue to train for the Tour de France in Italy.
Cavendish, who won the title for the first time in Glasgow 12 months ago, said: "I'm sad because, as current champion, I would really like to defend the title. I would have liked to honour the race and this jersey that I wore for all of 2014 so far, which allowed me to represent my country proudly.
“I think it's wiser, however, to not take any risks,” he went on, saying that he would “focus on absolute, 100 percent recovery” ahead of the Tour de France, where victory in the opening stage in his mother’s home town of Harrogate, and with it the opportunity to wear the yellow jersey of race leader for the first time, is his major goal for the season.
He added: “I talked with the race organisers and they understood my situation perfectly. I wish them well, and also wish good luck to all riders at the race on Sunday trying to fight for this jersey I've been so proud to wear."
The 2014 National Road Championships begin today with the men’s and women’ time trials, starting and finishing at Celtic Manor, with the road races, which begin and end in Abergavenny, following on Sunday.
I did similar. I found a Mapei-finished C59 disc frameset online and proceeded to build what I hoped would be a fantastic Colnago. It turned out...
exactly, thats my issue, how does knowing the speed, then change the perspective of a close pass ?...
On the subject of value, it's also worth mentioning the discount available through Cycling UK and British Cycling? I also spotted 10% off at...
We've saved them multiple times with Kick Starters. Shame. Edit: tense.
Or the congregation reads the news and does not like all the stories about ignored abuse by senior members of the church.
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> Are the ASO, basically saying it didn't happen The authority is the UCI. ASO was only the race organiser.
I have a Grand Prix appointment next week anyway, so I may decide to discuss this with them instead of what I'd booked it for...
Come with me to Brockenhurst, New Forest. It has a train station and a bike shop and in the summer season the area attracts visitors, many of whom...
Oi mate