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Britain’s Mark Cavendish is unlikely to return to the Tour de France after Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl selected him for the Giro d’Italia.
Cavendish, 36, equalled Eddy Merckx’s Tour de France stage win record of 34 during last year’s race, after victory in four stages.
Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen is expected to compete for the team at the Tour instead.
“Mark is our man for the flat,” said sports director Davide Bramati.
“He has won a lot of stages at the Giro, and he can rely on many strong riders to support and guide him in the hectic bunch sprints,” he added.
Cavendish narrowly missed out on breaking Merckx’s record during the final stage of last year’s Tour, but was beaten by Belgian Wout van Aert of Jumbo-Visma.
His form during the race was an extraordinary turnaround following several years without victory through injury and illness.
Cavendish, who has won 15 Giro stages through his illustrious sprinting career, has kept up his improved form in 2022, including becoming the first British rider ever to win the Milano-Torino one-day race.
He has won three races this season, compared to Jakobsen’s six.
Mario Cipollini has won the most stages of Italy’s three-week Grand Tour with 42.
The race begins in Hungary on Friday, 6 May for three stages, before returning to Italy.
Full line-up: Mark Cavendish, Davide Ballerini, James Knox, Michael Morkov, Mauro Schmid, Pieter Serry, Bert van Lerberghe, Mauri Vansevenant.