He was not selected for the Tour de France because of strained relations with Team Dimension Data principal and owner Douglas Ryder and other health issues since 2017. In response, Cavendish said he was "absolutely heart-broken" to be missing the tour in which he had competed each year since 2007. Douglas Ryder said it "was multiple people who made that decision" and that "there was a whole team involved". Team performance director, Rolf Aldag, however, said the decision had been made by Ryder alone. Aldag had made his intentions clear of selecting Cavendish for the tour, but later accepted it was ultimately the team owner's decision of who would be on the team. Aldag announced his departure from the team at the end of the season in a statement in early September.