Following his horrific crash in the Tour de France, Mark Cavendish will make his return to racing on Tuesday in the Tour de l'Ain that will also be Rigoberto Uran's first race since the Giro. Unfortunately, Cavendish won't be racing in the Ride London Classic where Omega Pharma-Quick Step will be lining up Mark Renshaw and Alessandro Petacchi.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team has announced the selections that will participate in Prudential Ride London Classic and Tour de l'Ain.

Prudential Ride London Classic is a one-day, 193km race on August 10th, while Tour de l'Ain is a five-day stage race from August 12th through the 15th. The race includes a 4.6km prologue, and four short stages less than 160km apiece. 

Mark Cavendish, who withdrew from the Tour de France after a Stage 1 crash, will not participate in Prudential Ride London Classic. He will participate in Tour de l'Ain.

"Tour de l'Ain will be important to see where I am at with my training and recovery from my injury, and also as a bit of a test at competition pace," Cavendish said. "The rest of my program will be decided 100 percent after Tour de l'Ain depending on how I feel during that race. Together with the team we will then discuss how to approach the rest of my season. Tour de l'Ain will be the first time back in the peloton after the Tour.

"Unfortunately I am not able to participate in Prudential Ride London Classic, which is an amazing race and I would have liked the opportunity to race next year. At the moment, with the two races being so close together on the calendar, I need to focus on completing my specific block of training in Italy before returning to competition at the Tour de l'Ain shortly after.

"I want to wish good luck to all the riders participating in Prudential Ride London Classic. I think it will be a wonderful event given the amazing support for cycling in the UK. I was so proud of what I saw from the public in the opening stage of the Tour and I wish I could be there to race in front of my British supporters. I will do my best to be there next year."

Rigoberto Uran will participate in Tour de l'Ain, which is his first race since the Giro d'Italia. 

"It's no surprise Rigo is working in function of La Vuelta," Sport Director Davide Bramati said. "It will represent his first race in Europe since the Giro, and it will be an important step to get into the rhythm of racing again after long training at altitude. After this race Rigo will remain in Europe until racing begins in Spain.

"At Tour de l'Ain you can find a bit of everything. There will be a prologue, up and down stages for the climbers, and more. So, it's the perfect race for many riders to open up the second part of the season."

OPQS for Ride London Classic:

Julian Alaphilippe (FRA)
Andrew Fenn (GBR)
Alessandro Petacchi (ITA)
Mark Renshaw (AUS)
Gert Steegmans (BEL)
Stijn Vandenbergh (BEL)

OPQS for Tour de l'Ain:

Julian Alaphilippe (FRA)
Mark Cavendish (GBR)
Gianni Meersman (BEL)
Pieter Serry (BEL)
Rigoberto Uran Uran (COL)
Carlos Verona (ESP)