Mark Cavendish ‘excited’ by Giro d’Italia stage win opportunities

Mark Cavendish declared himself to be in relaxed mood as he eyes opportunities to add to his tally of 15 career Giro d’Italia stage wins over the next three weeks.

The Manxman will contest the Italian Grand Tour for the first time since 2013, and only the sixth time in his storied career, when it rolls out of Budapest on Friday morning.

His selection in the QuickStep-AlphaVinyl squad has sparked inevitable speculation about whether he will miss out on the Tour de France – having won four stages and equalled Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 last summer – but Cavendish’s focus is entirely on the Giro, which starts with three days in Hungary.

“It’s nine years since the last time I did the Giro, and I won the red points jersey and I won five stages (in 2013),” he said.

“It’s a race I’ve always liked to do in the past. Obviously the dynamic (of the race) might have changed in the last nine years, it might not be the race I remember, but we’ll see.”

Cavendish has never made a target of the points classification and there is little chance of him donning the race leader’s pink jersey for a fourth time given the uphill finish to Friday’s opening stage to the Royal Palace in Visegrad, but he would love to add to his 15 stages.

There are seven recognised sprint opportunities on this year’s route, the first of them on Sunday’s stage to Balatonfured.

Cavendish will be supported by a squad that includes expert lead-out man Michael Morkov, Davide Ballerini and British rider James Knox among others, with stage hunting their primary objective.

“I’ve got some incredible guys in front of me,” Cavendish said of the team’s lead-out train. “I think that’s the biggest factor in the confidence I have. I know I have incredible guys I can trust who are