The HTC-Highroad sprinter was speaking on BBC Radio 5 and after poignantly talking about his success at the Tour de France and his love for the sport, he was asked about his future plans by a listener. He initially refused to go into details but then revealed he had decided his future on Saturday while in Eindhoven for a criterium.
“There’s been lots of rumours about which team I’ve been joining for three years but I can’t really say,” Cavendish said.
“There are a lot of teams that have a nationalist sponsor. Sky is a British team and so they want a lot of British riders. Cofidis is a French team and so wants French riders. I’m in a lucky position because I don’t get a contract because of my nationality but because I perform well on the bike. It’s irrelevant the nationality of the team I go to."
Cavendish insisted his decision is not only about the financial aspect of the offers he has received.
"I have a value and so I’ll get the same money whichever team I go to," he said. "I want to perform be happy and perform. The day I stop being happy doing this sport is the day I retire. I want to go the best place which will help me win and that might be the place where I am now. But I can’t say anything just yet."
100% happy with the decision
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When pushed further by presenter Anita Anand, Cavendish revealed that he actually decided his future on Saturday, while in Eindhoven.
“You’ve got an exclusive because I decided on Saturday,” Cavendish revealed.
Asked the circumstances, he said: “I was in a hotel in Eindhoven. I was sat on the bed with my beautiful girlfriend.”
“It was just one of them feelings, you just know… There was one more ingredient put into an offer I’ve already had. I can’t say anything but I’m 100% happy with my decision and you know when something is right.”
Asked one final time to name the team later during the interview, Cavendish again refused. He rebutted the idea that he might even join a new team, perhaps indicating that HTC-Highroad manager Bob Stapleton has found a new sponsor, but warned that no announcement was imminent.
“How do you know I’m going to a joining a new team?” he asked.
“My decision will be public in a few weeks' time.”
