Thwaites earns his reward on big stage

WEST YORKSHIRE’S Scott Thwaites is to make his Tour de France debut.

The Steeton 27-year-old has been named in Team Dimension Data’s line-up for the race alongside Mark Cavendish, who will attempt to become the most prolific stage-winner in Tour de France history.

The news regarding Cavendish, while expected, is still a gamble as the 32-yearold sprinter only returned to training six weeks ago, having contracted the Epstein-Barr virus earlier this year.

Best known as the cause of glandular fever, the virus has effectively wiped out the first half of his season, although Cavendish did claim a second place in the final stage of the Tour of Slovenia this month.

Also included in the South African-based team’s Tour party is Steve Cummings, another rider who has missed much of this season, having broken his collarbone, scapula and sternum in a serious crash in April. The 36-year-old made a remarkable return at the weekend’s National Road Championships in the Isle of Man, claiming a rare time trial and road race double.

Before Cummings, the last man to achieve that feat was David Millar in 2007 and the manner in which he won Sunday’s road race suggests he may have a few more highlights after his Tour stage wins in 2015 and 2016, as well as last year’s Tour of Britain victory.

For Thwaites, it is just reward for his consistency, versatility and much-improved climbing, and with three British riders in their ranks, Team Dimension Data match UK-based Team Sky’s domestic trio of: Chris Froome, Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas.

But it is Cavendish’s return to action that will attract most attention, particularly after last year’s race when he confounded those who thought he was fading to win four more stages.