Mark Cavendish made his return to racing on Tuesday after crashing out of the opening stage of the Tour de France suffering from a separated shoulder.
Cavendish completed the opening prologue of the Tour de l'Ain in a highly creditable ninth spot behind stage winner and Omega Pharma-QuickStep team-mate Gianni Meersman.
Cavendish then played lead-out man for Meersman on Wednesday's road stage, where the Belgian placed third behind stage winner Raymond Kreder (Garmin-Sharp) to maintain his overall lead.
Cavendish had hoped to win the opening stage of the 2014 Tour in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and put himself into the yellow jersey. Those hopes were dashed when he tangled with Simon Gerrans on the run-in to the line and ended up withdrawing from the race.
The Manxman then missed out on riding in the Commonwealth Games, but played the role of directeur sportif during the road race. It is unclear which races Cavendish will now ride for the remainder of the season, but a start in the Vuelta a Espana at the end of August is a possibility.
The UCI 2.1-ranked Tour de l'Ain concludes on Saturday, August 16.
Omega Pharma happy with their Tour despite missing Cavendish
Omega Pharma team rallied after Mark Cavendish crashed out, and will come away from the 2014 Tour de France with
Mark Cavendish unsure when he'll return to racing after Tour de France crash
Mark Cavendish joins Omega Pharma team-mates in France during second rest day
-
-
Britain's other medal factory: VC Londres
With Fred Wright called up by Bahrain-Victorious for his debut Tour de France, James Shrubsall heads down to the south London club to find out the secrets to its success
By James Shrubsall •
-
Nic Dlamini fulfills childhood dream as the first Black South African to ride the Tour de France
The 25-year-old says it feels surreal 'to come from a small township and then to go to the Tour de France'
By Jonny Long •
-
Yves Lampaert cycles home with panniers on his bike after winning Belgian time trial title
The Deceuninck - Quick-Step rider became national champion in the discipline for the second time
By Chris Marshall-Bell •
-
Fabio Jakobsen shows off 10 new 'astonishing' teeth in latest surgery
The sprinter lost almost all of his teeth in his horror crash at the Tour of Poland
By Chris Marshall-Bell •
-
Patrick Lefevere doesn’t want to sign Peter Sagan because of star rider’s entourage
The Deceuninck - Quick-Step boss said he doesn’t want ‘a team within his team’
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Remco Evenepoel signs new long-term contract with Deceuninck - Quick-Step
Remco Evenepoel has signed a new long-term contract with Deceuninck - Quick-Step, which will take him up to his 26th birthday.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Sam Bennett takes his second win in messy sprint finish on stage six of the UAE Tour 2021
Sam Bennett took his second win of the UAE Tour 2021 on stage six in chaotic finish into Palm Jumeirah while others were bumping and barging to try and get his wheel.
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Sam Bennett takes victory in chaotic finale on stage four of the UAE Tour 2021
The Irishman came through late to take victory ahead of some of the world's best sprinters
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Mark Cavendish down to make second appearance of 2021 at Le Samyn
Mark Cavendish is down to make his second appearance back at Deceuninck - Quick-Step with a race around the tough cobbled roads of Le Samyn, a race he has not attended for 14 years.
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
Remco Evenepoel says 'the fear of gaining weight was there' during his recovery as he drops 5kg
Remco Evenepoel says he has lost 5kg and all his baby fat as he returns to training after his crash at Il Lombardia in 2020
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
