Astana Qazaqstan racer Luis León Sanchez has given a resounding thumbs-up to the arrival of Mark Cavendish in the squad, describing it as beneficial for all parties involved.
The veteran Spaniard argued that prior to signing Cavendish Astana had needed what he called "a reference point" for 2023, given their dearth of top-level leaders, while pointing out that the Briton has signed for a "well-established team that has been around for a long time."
Cavendish had initially been linked to the French B&B Hotels squad for 2023, in an ambitious project that would have seen the low-profile French team developed and expanded into a much more heavily financed squad with powerful new sponsors.
But the plans for the squad disintegrated, leaving Cavendish looking for a team for this season at a very late date. His signing for Astana Qazaqstan, part of the WorldTour for nearly two decades, was only confirmed in mid-January.
"I think it's beneficial for everybody," Sánchez, currently by far Astana Qazaqstan's longest-serving rider and consistently a key part of the team's Grand Tour line-up, told Cyclingnews while racing at the ongoing Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana.
"Because in Astana we need a point of reference, and Cavendish gets a team that's in the WorldTour, that guarantees him participation in all the WorldTour races and which has been well-established and part of the racing scene for a very long time."
Part of Astana since 2015 and briefly in its first lineup in 2006 as well, Sánchez recognised that the team "would need to change some of its usual features because it's the first time we've had a sprinter of his characteristics, but we're all delighted he's here."
"He's already been in the team training camps, he's a chaval muy majo [a great guy] who is very approachable. And as for us, we'll try to be at the level he needs so he can pull off the wins."
Sánchez is cautiously optimistic about how the team will approach the question of working for a top sprinter.
"When it comes to learning a trade, whatever it is, it's a process," he said. "As you said, we're not a team with a strong tradition of sprinting, but we've already got [Cees] Bol who's already been up there in the Saudi Tour [Two third places and a sixth overall – Ed.]
"We've got [Davide] Martinelli, other guys who are fast. It likely won't be a question of just rocking up and winning in the first races we do, we'll have to train and work on putting the lead-outs together and for sure it'll take us some time. But that's what we're here to do. And the victories he wants and above all the team needs will surely come."
A winner of four Tour de France stages himself as well as Paris-Nice and the Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, Sánchez argues that the chance to be part of a Tour de France squad that would be vying for a record-breaking 35th stage win this July represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"It's something we'd all love to see happen. For Cavendish as a culmination of his career and for the team to be part of that would be something really special. We're going to try it in the Tour, we know it's not going to be easy, the young riders are coming up fast and some teams are built exclusively around sprinters.
"But we'll keep forging our own path, in the first races that win likely won't come through so quickly, but we'll give it everything to make sure further down the line they do."
