The possibility of Mark Cavendish racing for Israel-Premier Tech is off the table – although not technically impossible – after Israel-Premier Tech completed their roster with the signing of Stevie Williams.
Williams, like Cavendish, had agreed to join the B&B Hotels team, a project that promised big things but has now resulted in total collapse.
Israel-Premier Tech appeared a logical destination for Cavendish, a team with enough cash to sign a rider of his stature, but also a team in need of a Tour de France invite after their relegation from the WorldTour.
The 34-time Tour stage winner is seeking to outright break the record he shares with Eddy Merckx in the final objective of his illustrious career. The move would, in theory, have guaranteed both parties access to the Tour – a mutually beneficial arrangement that seemed to make sense in the absence of other serious avenues for Cavendish.
However, the team issued a press release on Friday announcing that they had closed their roster on 28 riders, with the signing of Williams joined by the extension of Reto Hollenstein’s contract.
There is still technically room for Cavendish, given the team are still two riders short of the UCI maximum squad size, which stands at 30 riders as long as a team has two neo-pros on board. However, the team would surely not have indicated the roster was complete if there were any potential negotiations ongoing.
More to follow …
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