Among the stars missing in Copenhagen when the Tour de France begins are a former winner, a one-time wearer of the yellow jersey and a sprint star.
Mark Cavendish
Number 35 will have to wait. The British superstar had hoped to set a record for stage wins and pull away from Eddy Merckx, with whom he shares first place with 34 stage wins. However, Mark Cavendish has been criticised by his team QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl is only intended as a substitute, instead the Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen is being relied on in the sprint.
Julian Alaphilippe
The world champion stays at home. However, Julian Alaphilippe is not missing as involuntarily as his team-mate Cavendish. The Frenchman crashed heavily in April and only made his comeback on Sunday. Alaphilippe simply lacks the form for the three-week Tour ordeal.
Egan Bernal:
A photo at Instagram briefly gave fans hope. On Tuesday, Egan Bernal published a snapshot of the team bus in Denmark. Was a sensational comeback in the offing? After all, Bernal had suffered a serious fall in his home country of Colombia in January and only narrowly escaped paraplegia. A few hours after his post, the Ineos-Grenadiers team published its Tour squad, which, as expected, did not include the 2019 winner.
Biniam Girmay
The 22-year-old was the discovery of the spring. Biniam Girmay was the first African to win a classic, winning Ghent-Wevelgem. The professional from Eritrea won the tenth stage of the Giro d'Italia, but then shot the cork of the winning champagne in his eye and had to retire injured. His next start in Europe is planned for the Tour of Poland at the end of July.
Jai Hindley
With his triumph at the Giro, the Australian clinched the first grand tour victory for Bora-Hansgrohe. Jai Hindley admitted afterwards that he would like to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France one day. But the 26-year-old still has to be patient and is skipping the Tour this year as planned.
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