Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) will ride Milan-San Remo on Saturday despite fracturing a rib at last week's Tirreno-Adriatico. The Manxman will also be joined by the return of leadout man Mark Renshaw as they form part of a strong Dimension Data team for the Monument.
Announced today on the Dimension Data website, Cavendish has been cleared by the team's medical staff and will make a return to racing at the Italian one-day Classic, stating that he could not miss a race so 'close to his heart.'
'After crashing in Tirreno I’m obviously not in any sort of condition to win Milan-San Remo but having been able to train enough through the pain over the last few days I feel like I can go in support of my teammates,' Cavendish said.
'Milan-San Remo is a race close to my heart and it’s a particular style of race that reminding my body of the rhythm of it this year, will help me to compete for the win in future years.'
Cavendish will be joined by a returning Renshaw who will be racing after abandoning Tirreno on Stage 5 with chronic sinusitis problems.
While the return of these two riders is a boost to the team, they will no doubt miss the presence of Bernard Eisel who will be unavailable after also suffering a nasty crash at Tirreno-Adriatico.
Nevertheless, sports director Roger Hammond still rates the chances of the team come the weekend.
It’s great to have Mark [Cavendish] return to an event that’s obviously very special to him. He’s had a run of bad luck, crashing in both Abu Dhabi and Tirreno-Adriatico, but despite fracturing a rib, and weather permitting, has managed to train,' said Hammond.
'It’s not been an easy selection process having both Bernie Eisel and Tom-Jelte Slagter unavailable but for now it looks like the weather could play a big part on the day and we look forward to taking opportunities that present themselves for a good result.'
Cavendish took victory at San Remo back in 2009 but has been unable to add a second victory at the race, however, with plenty of the peloton's sprinting talent ruled out of Saturday's race this could be his best opportunity since 2009.
Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) has been ruled out with a broken hand while Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) was deemed too unwell to race by his team.