CAV TO MAKE TOUR RETURN

MARK CAVENDISH has decided to gamble on his fitness and line up for the start of the Tour de France. The Manx sprinter has spent the last week or so agonising over whether to participate with his preparation severely disrupted after contracting the Epstein Barr virus — known as Glandular Fever or Mononucleosis — earlier in the season. Cavendish only returned to full training six weeks ago and has raced just once, and despite managing to secure a second place in a sprint in Slovenia earlier this month remains significantly short of full fitness. But the 32-year-old was named by Dimension Data in their Tour team yesterday and he will line up for the individual time trial in Dusseldorf on Saturday, still hoping he can use his skill and cunning to add to the 30 Tour stage wins he has so far secured.