Mark Cavendish says he may be forced to miss the 2016 Rio Olympics due to commitments with his Etixx-QuickStep road team.

“It’s not 100 percent I’m not doing the Olympics, but it’s difficult,” he told BBC Sport. “It probably won’t happen, if I’m honest. I’ve got a road job.”

Cavendish has a glittering palmares but the one thing that is missing is Olympic Gold, and he wanted to correct that in the Rio Velodrome, as the road race course is too tough for him.

“The [course for the] road race doesn’t suit me,” Cavendish said. “The time trial, well, I’m not a time triallist. And as for the track, the UCI has segregated track and road cycling completely.”

“As a British athlete I want to do the Olympics, but it’s hard.”

“I can’t do it on the road, can’t do it in the time trial, and on the track there’s just no way to qualify without quitting the road.”