Team Sky news update - Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish condition:

Team Sky are happy to announce that Mark Cavendish has recovered sufficiently from his recent bout of illness to make his Team Sky debut in the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar.

The world road race champion, 26, did not take part in Team Sky’s training ride on Saturday after falling ill on his flight from London Heathrow to Doha on Friday night. Instead, he spent the day resting under the supervision of Team Sky’s medical team and his progress has since proved encouraging.

Team Sky’s Sports Director Steven de Jongh said: 

“We’re all delighted that Mark has been able to battle back from the bug he picked up coming out here and it will be a real boost to the rest of the guys to know that he’ll be starting today.

“Our medical team have done a fantastic job in looking after him and Mark has followed their advice to the letter. Clearly, he’s not going to be at his best in the next few days but we’re hoping he’ll get stronger with every passing stage. 

“We’ll continue to keep a very close eye on him but hopefully he’s over the worst of it now.”