Mark Cavendish confirms he missed out-of-competition drugs test last April

konkrete - the Cavendish story was published in the Gazzetta before the other two stories broke today. Cavendish made his statement in reaction to the story about him being made public.

Assuming he knew of it before today, and there's nothing to suggest he didn't, he's had opportunities to talk about it, and hasn't, which is fine - he has no obligation to do so.

But while his views on doping are well known and welcome, the fact remains he didn't announce the missed test, he simply confirmed reports that were already out there, although again, I think that's something that should be applauded.

The Gazzetta quotes just various sources. Who those sources are - someone close to Cavendish, someone within WADA or UCI, someone else - they don't say. But the Gazzetta is thorough, and has a track record of being right, as they were on this one.

Note, though, that they weren't judgmental - it's a missed test, they haven't insinuated anything untoward into that, they've pointed out that he has a busy schedule which has also been subject to changes in his personal life.

So, is it news? Well, he's one of the biggest stars in the sport, perhaps since the world championship win the biggest star right now (and from the point of view of us covering the story, he's British of course). So even in isolation, the story is news, and certainly once he has issued a statement on it.

The fact it broke the same day as the news on Baugé and Offredo underscores that. We'll be following those up, but for now, there's elements of both that make you wonder if the whereabouts programme is simply too onerous on the athlete, especially in a sport such as cycling where programmes are subject to change at short notice, unlike many other sports.

In the Baugé case, there is also a delay that needs to be explained between the final infraction and the disciplinary hearing; Alex Rasmussen was recently acquitted because the UCI (which is appealing) didn't notify him in time; Jeannie Longo was absolved because the French hadn't notified her she was in the testing pool, therefore there was actually no offence to commit in the eyes of the law because in effect she wasn't subject to it.

It does seem that the system isn't working as it should be, although specific issues may differ in individual cases.

Cavendish has a reputation for fine detail, for double checking everything. If he can be caught out, anyone can. That's news.

Yes, it's a first infraction, and you would be very surprised if there were another. But suppose there were. He's only one away from the three strikes and you're out.

By the way, there's no extenuating circumstances here, and Cavendish isn't claiming there were. He was somewhere that was different from where he had told WADA he'd been, and that's enough to chalk up a first infraction.

As we say in the article, only something like a delayed flight - remember the chaos surrounding the Icelandic ash cloud which caused chaos during Classics season a couple of years ago - is going to get you of the hook.

It's also a fact that people in this country generally, including many cycling fans, will pay more attention to a story about Cavendish missing a test than one about Baugé committing three infractions and being stripped of a world title. That's just the way it is.

If through the attention his involvement gets, we can help people understand how the system works and where there may be shortcomings in it, so much the better.