Cavendish`s Tour de France start still hangs in the balance
(Cyclingnews.com)

Mark Cavendish´s chances of making the start of the Tour de France are looking higher as each day passes but his Dimension Data team is not taking anything for granted and there is not yet a confirmation that he will head to Dusseldorf next week for the Tour de France Grand Depart. Cavendish missed almost three months of the season after picking up an ankle injury in March and then developing glandular fever. He returned to racing at the Tour of Slovenia earlier this month, where he took second behind Sam Bennett on the final stage, and is set to race the British national championships on his native Isle of Man on Sunday. He arrived on the island on Thursday and looked in good form as he helped out with a children´s event during the time trials. While he is currently symptom-free, the team knows that glandular fever could come back and strike him again.ADVERTISEMENT `That´s the thing about it, nobody is relaxing. Nobody is saying, hey we´ve conquered this. He´s being closely monitored, and they´re keeping an eye on him,` Dimension Data directeur sportif Roger Hammond told Cyclingnews. `Nobody, by any means, is counting their chickens yet. I just think what we´re celebrating is that he was actually able to ride the Tour of Slovenia and got through it and he finished second on a stage.` Cavendish was diagnosed with the virus - also known as mononucleosis - back in April during a regular quarterly blood test. Since then, the team has been monitoring him with regular blood tests as he carefully controlled any light training. Cavendish`s long-term health comes first You can read more at Cyclingnews.com