Opinion: Mark Cavendish still probably won't go to the Tour de France, but Giro victory took him closer than he was

Mark Cavendish is riding the Giro d’Italia because his team are not planning to take him to the Tour de France. Correction, they are not currently planning to take him to the Tour de France. Because while Fabio Jakobsen might be the first-string sprinter in the eyes of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl management, that is not a status carved in stone tablet.

It is at best an entry in a cell of a spreadsheet, as erasable as these words here. Ad/> And while Cavendish heads to Sicily to continue racing against (and beating) the very best sprinters in the world, on primetime TV, Jakobsen will this week be riding the second-string race that is the Tour de Hongrie, against the likes of Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) Jon Aberasturi (Trek Segafredo) and Olav Kooij (Jumbo Visma). Dylan Groenewegen (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) too, of course, but the Dutchman has not taken a WorldTour victory in more than two years.

/> Giro d'Italia'It's number 16!' — Mark Cavendish wins Stage 3 of the Giro4 HOURS AGO Lest we imagine otherwise, when it comes to his team selections, as well as the contracts he negotiates with his employees, Patrick Lefevere is not known for being a sentimental. That is the most straightforward explanation for why his teams have always won as much and as consistently as they have. That, in turn is why he has maintained such a strong grip over the sporting direction of the Belgian outfit.