Bradley Wiggins says Mark Cavendish deserves Tour de France spot and backs Chris Froome to ‘surprise us all’

Bradley Wiggins believes former teammate Mark Cavendish deserves a shot at defending his green jersey and breaking the Tour de France stage record this year. Cavendish is set to miss out on being selected by QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl for the upcoming Tour, which starts on July 1, with team manager Patrick Lefevere stating Fabio Jakobsen is the preferred sprinter.

Ad/> That is despite Cavendish recently winning a stage at the Giro d’Italia, while last year his return to the Tour de France saw him win Stages 4, 6, 10 and 13 to level record-holder Eddy Merckx and clinch the green jersey for a second time. Tour de France‘It’s awesome’ – Froome picked for 10th Tour de FranceYESTERDAY AT 15:02 Cavendish won three of his 34 stages when Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012, and speaking to the media ahead of the event, the Eurosport analyst said the “Manx Missile” would be selected by almost any other team.

“Patrick [Lefevere] knows what he’s doing but from a personal point of view, it would be a real shame if Cav’s not there,” Wiggins said. “Any other team would be crazy not to take him, he’s just won a stage of the Giro.

‘We are going to sprint in the Tour with Fabio Jakobsen’ – Cavendish set to miss out on Tour Cavendish to race in British National Road Championships Opinion: Cavendish's Giro stage win may not be enough to ensure Tour selection “Aside from the personal relationship with him, I find it hard to see why you wouldn’t take Mark: from a performance point of view, for the sponsors, for the impact he has on other riders around him on the team and the fact that he won four stages last year and the green jersey. “Why wouldn’t you take the defending green jersey back to the Tour de France? I can’t see anybody else on that