Tour of Britain race director would like to see Mark Cavendish at his home tour: "The invite will definitely be there, on or off the bike"

Mark Cavendish is the fresh owner of the title of a rider with most Tour de France stage wins to his name. In addition, the 39-year-old was recently awarded the British knight title for example representing of the kingdom. And it is at his home Tour of Britain where not only fans would like to see the 'Manx Misile' one more time before (this time permanently) he finally hangs up his racing bike. Even if he were to come only as a guest.

"Well I’m totally open to it, but I’m not sure it’ll happen, you’ll have to ask him," race director Rod Ellingworth told Cycling Weekly about Manxman's possible participation. "There will always be a place though for Mark whether it's on or off the bike with anything to do with British Cycling, I’m quite sure of that. So he will get an invite either way, let’s just say that."

"Of course," he added when asked whether the possibility of Cavendish’s presence was something that British Cycling would look to explore. "But with all that said, I totally respect what he’s done. Even if he came along and just spent the day with a few people, that would be fantastic also. The invite will definitely be there, on or off the bike."

When asked what he thought might be next for Cavendish when he eventually retires, Ellingworth said he thought that there was a high chance that he would stay in cycling in some capacity moving forward. "I’m sure he’s had some conversations with some people," he said. "But Mark’s not stupid at all, I’m sure he will keep active with something. But maybe it's time just to take a bit of a break, spend some time at home for a while and think about his next steps. He will have loads of offers and opportunities though I’m sure."