Mark Cavendish has undergone surgery following his withdrawal from this week’s UCI Road World Championships in America.
The surgery, which was deemed a success, was to fix a partial tear of his left AC ligament suffered as a consequence of the crash during the sixth stage of the recent Tour of Britain. This was the opposite shoulder to the one damaged in last year’s Tour de France.
‘It has been a very difficult decision,’ Cav commented. ‘However, 10 days after the crash, I still had pain and I couldn’t lift or pull much weight. I tried to ride my bike a few days ago on the road, but I could not put any power out by pulling on the handlebars. The surgery was necessary to avoid any problems in the near future. I’m so disappointed to end the season like this.’
Fellow Manxies Nathan Draper and Lizzie Holden are both in the GB squads to contest the junior men’s and women’s races this Saturday and Friday respectively.
Holden finished 32nd in the junior women’s time trial on Monday.
More in Thursday’s Manx Independent.