Mark Cavendish says Sam Bennett decision must come first for Tour selection

Sam Bennett is out injured and while his team boss has expressed concern about his condition ahead of the Tour, Mark Cavendish has said Bennett's condition is the first factor that must be considered when it comes to Tour de France team selection

Fresh from his victory on the final stage of Baloise Belgium Tour, Mark Cavendish has said Sam Bennett’s condition must be the primary factor before he could be considered for the Tour de France.

At the weekend, Deceuninck-QuickStep boss Patrick
Lefevere said he was concerned about Bennett’s knee injury and was unsure if
the Irishman would ride the Tour.

He added the team had no ‘Plan B’ for a sprinter in the
Tour and explained he was now considering improving Cavendish’s contract so it
would reflect the possibility he could ride the Tour.

Lefevere’s remarks were the first time any real concern
was expressed about Bennett’s injury. Those comments were also the first time
it was suggested Bennett could possibly miss the Tour and the first time it was
mentioned that Cavendish could be drafted in.

Before Lefevere made his remarks, there was no media coverage even vaguely hinting at any of the possibilities the team boss mentioned. But that did not stop Cavendish suggesting the media had created the story.

Lefevere's newspaper column on Saturday expressed concern about Sam Bennett's Tour de France ride. He also said he was considering a better contract for Mark Cavendish to cover the possibility he may ride the Tour. Before then, none of those possibilities were being discussed by anyone, including the media

"We have to
see," he said of the possibility he may ride the Tour if Bennett was not
able to. "We have the current green jersey winner in Sam Bennett. I
think it’s right to see how he’s going before we think of anything else.

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“At the end of the day it was all talk. The reason the
whole Tour de France came up, I didn’t mention it, Patrick didn’t mention it,” Cavendish said of Lefevere, even though
a column written by Lefevere himself was the only source of the story.

“I won in Turkey and all of a sudden the media started
talking about it. This is something that happens a lot.

“The thing about Eddy Merckx’s record is, I never started
that, it was the media that started all that,” Cavendish said of speculation he was chasing the all-time record of
Tour stage wins, of 34 compared to his current tally of 30.

“And all of a sudden it’s all I’ve gone for. It was you guys (asking) if I should go on the Tour or not.”

*Cavendish is back in great form but whether that might stretch to a Grand Tour remains to be seen*

He also explained
he had been bumped off the team for Baloise Belgium Tour in favour of
Bennett and then brought back in when the Irishman’s knee injury ruled him out.

"Belgium was always on my programme and Sam wanted
to do it, so I got kicked out of it. So it’s serendipity that I’m back in it with Morkov and the
rest of the guys; [Davide] Ballerini, Stybar,
Remco, Yves and Iljo. That’s a hit team.

"That’s a team that any kid would dream of being in,
and I’m a 36-year-old that’s been around for a lot of years."