Cavendish ruled out of World Road Cycling Championships as 2011 winner fails to recover from shoulder injury

Mark Cavendish has been forced to withdraw from the Championships due to a shoulder injury ©AFP/Getty Images

Britain have been dealt another blow ahead of the 2015 World Road Cycling Championships with the news that the 2011 road race winner Mark Cavendish has been forced to withdraw from the team after failing to recover from a shoulder injury.

Cavendish has now joined this year’s Tour de France winner Chris Froome on the sidelines, after he suffered a fractured foot during the Vuelta a España, while two-time Olympic gold medallist Geraint Thomas also misses the Championships.

It had been hoped that Cavendish, who is considered by many as the best sprinter off all-time, would be able to join the nine-man team after recovering from the injury, which he sustained after a collision with a parked car at last week’s Tour of Britain.

However the shoulder, which he also injured in a crash on the opening stage of the 2014 Tour de France, has not healed in time for the 30-year-old to join up with his team-mates for the event in the American city of Richmond.

“It’s a real blow for Mark to have to pull out of this year’s race as we thought he had a great chance of being successful,” said Shane Sutton, technical director of the British Cycling team.

“Unfortunately the injury he sustained during last week’s Tour of Britain is more serious than we had hoped.

“We wish him well in his recovery.”

Mark Cavendish won the 2011 edition of the event after a sprint finish in Copenhagen — Mark Cavendish won the 2011 road race after a sprint finish in Copenhagen ©Getty Images

The Manx cyclist had become the first British rider since Tom Simpson rode to victory in 1965 to don the world champion’s rainbow jersey, when he sprinted to the line in the Danish capital Copenhagen at the 2011 edition of the annual event.

Despite his absence, the British men’s team will hope to be strong contenders to claim victory in the road race on the final day of the Championships, which are set to take place from September 19 to 27.

The team includes Commonwealth Games time trial champion Alex Dowsett as well as Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Stephen Cummings, Andy Fenn, Luke Rowe and Scott Thwaites, while Adam Yates has also been added as a replacement for Thomas.

Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski will head into the Championships as the defending men’s champion in the road race, having finished a second clear of Australia’s Simon Gerrans at the 2014 edition of the event in Ponferrada, Spain.