Mark Cavendish's hopes of qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are fading after The Times reported that Mark Cavendish is not on the British team (opens in new tab) for next week's Track World Cup Final in Milton, Canada. It appears that.

The Manxman won the silver medal in the 2016 Omnium in Rio and was in contention for a spot in Madison's British duo this time around. He returned to the track in the winter to compete in the Olympic trials and competed in the Track Cycling Challenge in Grenchen, Switzerland, in December.

Cavendish crossed the 250 qualifying point barrier in Switzerland, but to qualify for the Olympics, he had to compete in either the Track World Cup or the World Championships. By not being selected for the World Cup finals, his Olympic prospects appear to be closed.

The Times reports that Ollie Wood and Ethan Hayter will represent Great Britain in Madison at the Milton World Cup. Great Britain is currently ranked 20th in Madison and must finish in the top 18 in the rankings in Milton to qualify for the track world championships in Berlin next month.

Great Britain's head coach Ian Dyer had previously indicated that he hoped to bring an athlete to the Tokyo Olympics who could also compete in Team Pursuit rather than a Madison specialist. Both Wood and Hayter represent Great Britain in Team Pursuit, and Hayter will also compete in the omnium in Tokyo.

"The door is open, but it is very difficult to carve out an opportunity at this point," Dyer told Press Association in December about Cavendish's prospects.

Four years ago in Rio, Cavendish was a reserve for Team Pursuit but was not used in any of the races; in his third Olympics, he won his first medal, a silver in the omnium behind Elia Viviani.

Cavendish has had a tough four years since his remarkable 2016 run, which included a Madison world title in London, four stages of the Tour de France, and a silver medal at the road world championships in Doha.

He won only two races during that time after his 2017 and 2018 campaigns were ruined by the Epstein-Barr virus; in 2019, Cavendish was excluded from Tour selection for the first time in his career, which led to his departure from the Dimension Data team which led to his departure from the Dimension Data team.

In 2020, Cavendish signed with Bahrain McLaren and reunited with his longtime mentor Rod Ellingworth. The 34-year-old said when the team was announced at Woking in December, "Rod is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get involved, and he knows how to get the best out of me."

Cavendish will make his Bahrain McLaren racing debut at the Tour of Saudi Arabia on February 4, followed by the Tour of Oman and the UAE Tour. He will then compete in Tirreno-Adriatico before Milano-Sanremo, where he won his debut race in 2009.