Cavendish looking to seize "ample opportunities for bunch sprints" at Tour de France

Mark Cavendish was in Paris this morning for the Tour de France presentation and his presence was not unnoticed. The Manxman is a legend in the Grand Boucle, and heavily suggests that he could be at the start in Bilbao next year.

“The Tour de France is always hard. It’s the Tour de France. It’s the biggest and most incredible bike race on the planet. Both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift provide opportunities for everyone,” Cavendish told reporters after the presentation of the two races. His presence further confirmed his intentions and confidence that he'll ride the race, with his signing with B&B Hotels-KTM yet to be officially announced.

Although the race is filled with mountainous and hilly stages, the sprinters should have several opportunities. The organizers have not revealed the profiles of all stages however, leaving questions over the amount of bunch sprints that are expected, but the number should be between five and eight - a reasonable number for the fast men.

“Brutal stages but also great bunch sprints, and time trials," Cavendish continued. "I think that the start is going to be the hardest one I’ve seen in my career but exciting and it’s going to be a good show. It will change things up with the GC riders dictating things pretty early on rather than setting into it.”

“For sprinters, if they can survive the mountains then they have ample opportunities for bunch sprints. Long boulevard finishes with more than a kilometer of normal straight. It will make exciting days all round. There are maybe seven or eight sprint opportunities. It’s a lot. And real sprint opportunities," he concluded.