Mark Cavendish and Cees Bol have been spotted in Spain as they link up with the Astana Qazaqstan team, who are expected to announce the signings of the pair imminently.
Astana's approach for Mark Cavendish was first reported by Cyclingnews last week and followed up by reports that an agreement had been struck in a deal that includes Bol, who had also been set to sign for the B&B Hotels team.
Now, Cavendish and Bol are both in Altea, in southeast Spain, with eye-witness reports linking both riders to the Astana camp. Cyclingnews understands that everything is in place for the riders to put pen to paper and join the team on their pre-season preparations.
Spanish website Ciclo 21 reported that Cavendish was at Astana's hotel in Altea, where they have been holding their training camp, on Tuesday.
Cavendish was also apparently spotted out riding on what appeared to be a Wilier bike used by the Astana team. Footage shot from the on-bike camera of a passing rider appeared to show the 34-time Tour de France stage winner in his British champion's edition QuickStep-AlphaVinyl kit, aboard the Wilier bike in Astana colours.
As for Bol, the Dutch sprinter has already logged a training ride in southeast Spain on his Strava account. His file shows that he was on some of the area's climbs at similar times to Astana's current riders.
Cavendish and Bol were both left scrambling for teams after the demise of the B&B Hotels team, whose ambitious project has fallen through due to lack of sponsorship.
Cavendish had been expected to be the French team's marquee signing, attracting major sponsors with the prospect of outright breaking the Tour de France stage win record next summer. Bol, meanwhile, was expected to move from DSM as a second sprinter and possible lead-out train component.
Since the team fell through, options for Cavendish looked thin on the ground but Astana's dismissal of Miguel Angel Lopez opened a space on the roster and in the budget. The Manxman and Bol share an agent, and it appears they have been packaged together. Already up against the UCI maximum limit of riders, Astana are reportedly set to drop one of their Kazakh youngsters down to their development team to make room.
"I gave him a phone call saying if he was free then we could talk. It's true he's what? 35 or 36? [37 - Ed.] but what really matters is if he's motivated. I won the Olympic Games when I was nearing 40," Astana manager Alexandre Vinokourov told Cyclingnews.
"Astana have never had a really big sprinter. We've always focussed on the stage races, not so much on that."
