TNT Sports
UAE Tour 2024: Mark Cavendish withdraws from race due to illness ahead of penultimate stage
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Published 24/02/2024 at 14:59 GMT
Astana-Qazaqstan rider Mark Cavendish has withdrawn from the UAE Tour after falling ill. In a statement on social media, his team revealed that the 38-year-old felt "a small fever" ahead of the sixth and penultimate stage. "Medical staff decided to let the rider time to recover better ahead of his next races," Astana announced. Cavendish's next race is set to be Tirreno-Adriatico in March.
‘Really special’ Merlier secures UAE Tour hat-trick of stage wins with rapid sprint finish
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark Cavendish pulled out of the UAE Tour ahead of the penultimate stage, after feeling “a small fever”.
Astana-Qazaqstan confirmed the decision to withdraw Cavendish from the race to help him with his recovery ahead of other upcoming races.
“[Cavendish] won’t start today due to a sickness,” a statement from Astana-Qazaqstan read.
“The rider felt a small fever this morning and after discussion, [sports directors] and medical staff decided to let the rider time to recover better ahead of his next races.”
The Manx cyclist’s next race is set to be Tirreno-Adriatico, before scheduled appearances at Milano-Torino, Brugge-De Panne and Scheldeprijs.
As the 38-year-old builds up to what could be a record-breaking Tour de France, where Cavendish will bid to break the record for stage wins he shares with Eddy Merckx, he is expected to undergo training camps in Greece and Sierra Nevada, before racing at the Tour of Hungary.
Cavendish returned from retirement which he announced last year and signed a one-year contract with Astana ahead of the current season.
He failed to make an impact on the UAE Tour after a positive start to the season which included a stage victory in Zipaquira.
Saturday’s stage had opened the door for one last opportunity for the fast riders ahead of the final stage on Sunday, but Cavendish was not well enough to feature.
For those that were still in contention, riders tackled the 138 km sixth stage of the UAE Tour which saw the field compete throughout the city of Abu Dhabi.
Team Visma Lease a Bike’s Olav Kooi won stage five, but could not build on his triumph as Soudal Quick-Step's Tim Merlier sealed his third win of the race.
In another exciting bunch sprint, Arvid de Kleijn (Tudor) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) were narrowly outdone by Merlier who timed his effort perfectly to get to the line first.
UAE Team Emirates rider Jay Vine finished comfortably in the peloton to retain the red jersey and hold his lead at the top of the general classification ahead of Australian compatriot Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) in second place.
The final stage of the sixth edition of the UAE Tour takes place on Sunday, as riders will continue their battle to Jebel Hafeet through the classic mountain stage from Bait Mohammed Bin Khalifa.
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