Cavendish returns to action in Gent Six
Mark Cavendish has started his preparation for the 2015 season with a ride in the Gent Six Day track race, alongside his Omega Pharma-Quickstep teammate Iljo Keisse. He completed the first night of the competition on Tuesday evening and is placed fourth in the contest.
Cavendish's return to the Gent Six, which he last rode in 2007, is part of a strategy to regain his crown as cycling's fastest sprinter, a title now given to the German Marcel Kittel. Cavendish will also ride in the Zurich Six later this month.
Although Keisse is a four-time former winner, Cavendish has never won the prestigious track race, despite being a double-world champion at the Madison. The pair who are competing under the Omega Pharma-Quickstep banner are fancied by many to take the win this week.
Patrick Lefevre, who stopped Cavendish's participation at the race last year, did not express happiness at his star sprinter's decision to ride the event, but he did not stop the Manxman taking the start this year. Cavendish has fully recovered from his ligament damage sustained at the Tour de France and will be looking to add to his already world-class palmares this November.