After months of speculation, Mark Cavendish’s future team for 2023 has finally been confirmed, with Astana Qazaqstan announcing that the Manxman has inked a deal with the Kazakhstani WorldTour team.
Cavendish will therefore be able to fight for a record-beating 35th Tour de France stage win this summer with a WorldTour squad that has guaranteed participation in cycling’s biggest stage race.
Astana's interest in signing Cavendish first became public in mid-December when team manager Alexandr Vinokourov acknowledged to Cyclingnews that he had called Cavendish after the B&B Hotels project collapsed.
The 37-year-old then travelled to Spain to visit the team at their training camp as a contract was formalised, but Christmas and New Year came and went without an announcement.
On Tuesday afternoon, with Cavendish having joined the latest training camp in Spain, the team finally announced that the Manxman has joined on a one-year deal.
"I am really excited for this adventure. I raced with Alexandr Vinokurov for many years, and now I’m racing with his two boys! I remember when they were children the same age as my own, dreaming to be bike racers," Cavendish said.
"Astana Qazaqstan Team is going to be a great place to be successful, with a strong team led by Alexandr, a champion on the bike and a gentleman off the bike. I’ve enjoyed a long career already, but the joy of riding my bike and the hunger to continue winning are as bright as ever.
"So I’m looking forward to being part of a successful team, whether working with the team for wins, crossing the line first myself, or cheering on my teammates. As always, the objective will be for us to stand on the top podium."
Vinokourov added: "Well, Mark Cavendish doesn’t need any presentation. He is the best sprinter of all times, and I am happy to welcome Mark in Astana Qazaqstan Team.
"Mark still has a big desire to win and we are going to support this feeling with all our forces in all kind of races."
'The arrival of a top sprinter is a challenge for us'
Cavendish’s last-minute signing for Astana Qazaqstan will see him join a squad which has won all three Grand Tours but whose line-up currently has a glaring lack of stage racing leaders.
Already seriously depleted after Vincenzo Nibali retired at the end of this season, the sacking of Miguel Angel López because of alleged connections to a doctor under investigation for doping, had left the Astana team bereft of experienced high-profile racers.
Cees Bol was also understood to have joined Astana Qazaqstan as part of the deal, although there has been no official word from the team that the Dutch sprinter, who was also bound for B&B Hotels, is now part of the squad.
"The arrival of a top sprinter in our team is kind of a challenge for us, but we are ready for it. We see new ways and new possibilities," Vinokourov said.
"The goals however are still the same – victories in any kind of race: Classics, stages in different stage races and, of course, in the Grand Tours."
Cavendish will use a Wilier Triestina bike in 2023 after two seasons on a Specialized at QuickStep-AlphaVinyl. According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, the Gastaldelli family, the owners of Wilier Triestina, were instrumental in providing part of the extra funding needed to bring Cavendish to Astana.
Confirmation of Cavendish's move to Astana Qazaqstan follows months of speculation about his future after Soudal-QuickStep designated Fabio Jakobsen as their number-one sprinter for 2023 and also went on to sign Tim Merlier from Alpecin-Deceunink.
The French B&B Hotels project, potentially with several big-name sponsors on board and with Cavendish joining as team leader, had been announced on the last day of the 2022 Tour. But the sponsors were never confirmed and team manager Jérôme Pineau was forced to admit the project would not happen in early December, leaving riders and staff scrambling to find other teams.
Rumours that Cavendish could sign for Ineos Grenadiers, Israel-Premier Tech or Human Powered Health all gained ground and then fizzled out, but finally Astana Qazaqstan have proved to be the Briton's option for the ninth professional team of his career.
