The 109th Tour de France will take place without the two stars Mark Cavendish and Julian Alaphilippe.
Quick-Step will be without Cavendish & Alaphilippe at the Tour de France
Both the British record stage winner and the French world champion were missing from the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl squad for the tour, which starts in Copenhagen.
Instead, the Belgian team is relying on Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen and is also hoping for stage wins from Danish classics specialist Kasper Asgreen.
Cavendish nominated as successor
Cavendish is only nominated as a latecomer. The 37-year-old equalled Eddy Merckx's stage record last year and was actually hoping for his 35th stage win.
Cavendish only became British champion on Sunday after a strong performance. Now he can only make the squad if a team-mate falls ill or is injured at short notice. The team justified the decision not to include Alaphilippe with a lack of form. The 30-year-old crashed heavily at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April and only returned to racing on Sunday.
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