Mark Cavendish has been confirmed to ride in this year’s Tour de France, which gets underway in just over one week’s time.

The Manx Missile will start the Grand Tour for a 12th time and, as such, will be Team Dimension Data’s most experienced rider when the three-week race gets underway in earnest on July 7.

Cav forms part of Dimension’s eight-man team for the tour alongside Edvald Boasson Hagen, Mark Renshaw, Janse van Rensburg, Serge Pauwels, Julien Vermote, Tom-Jelte Slagter and Jay Thomson.

To date, the Manxman has one no fewer than 30 stages in the Tour de France, putting him second on the all-time winners’ list behind only the great Eddy Merckx (34).

In his first season with Dimension Data in 2016, Cav won four stages at Le Tour and will therefore be hoping for similar success this time around, having been forced to withdraw early in last year’s edition because of injury.

The 33-year-old heads into the race having recently competed in the Adriatica Ionica Race recently, while this Sunday he will line up in Northumberland aiming to claim his second British National Road Race Championship jersey.

Speaking about his selection, Cav commented: ’The Tour de France is not only the biggest cycling event on the planet but it’s one of the biggest sporting events on the planet.

’And it’s the best platform to get across what we as Team Dimension Data do for our charity Qhubeka, to get people in rural parts of Africa on bicycles.

’I’m excited to be part of a strong team and I’ll be looking at getting closer to that record (34)

of Eddie Merckx.’

Find out how Cav and his fellow Manxies get on in Northumberland in next week’s Examiner, on sale Tuesday.