Mark Cavendish out of Tirreno-Adriatico after missing time cut

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) has been eliminated from Tirreno-Adriatico after missing the time cut on stage 5.

The British sprinter trailed stage winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 32:28 on the first mountain stage of the race.

Cavendish finished alongside his teammate and lead-out rider Michael Mørkøv. The Dane was also forced out of the race for missing the time cut.

It was a bad day for British riders with Chris Froome (Israel Premier Tech) left with no choice but to quit the race ahead of stage 5 after scans revealed a fractured left wrist following a crash on stage 2. The four-time Tour de France winner returned home to Monaco on Friday for surgery and a spell on the sidelines.

GCN reached out to Astana Qazaqstan for comment with regards to Cavendish leaving the race but the team declined to comment.

Cavendish endured a difficult race in Tirreno-Adriatico. He was unable to compete in any of the sprints, with Jasper Philipsen, Phil Bauhaus, and Jonathan Milan winning the three tough stages that came after the individual time trial.

The 38-year-old came into the Italian WorldTour race on the back of a DNF at the UAE Tour after he was forced out through illness ahead of stage 6. He did, however, win a stage at the Tour Colombia in February.

The veteran sprinter is aiming to win a record-setting 35th Tour de France stage win this July. He is currently tied with Eddy Merckx on 34 Tour de France stage wins.