Cavendish skips Giro, targets Tour de France

British sprint specialist Mark Cavendish  revealed on Friday that he would bypass this year's Giro d'Italia to focus on the Tour de France which begins on July 5. The 28-year-old Isle of Man native will instead use the Tours of Turkey (April 27-May 4), California (May 11-18) and Switzerland (June 14-22) as his tune-up races for the Tour de France which starts from Leeds, in Yorkshire, England. "As everyone knows, my main objective this year is the Tour de France," said the Omega Pharma rider who has won 25 stages on the world's greatest bike race. "I will not do the Giro this year, which saddens me because it is a race that has given me a lot of satisfaction in the past," added Cavendish who has struggled with fitness and illness this season.   Cavendish, whose mother is from Harrogate, the finish point for the first stage of this year's Tour de France, has won 15 stages on the Giro and also finished as points winner in 2013. Source: AFP