While the American team Human Powered Health was ready to welcome him, Mark Cavendish should finally commit to training Astana Qazaqstan with Dutch sprinter Cees Bol to accompany him.
Will Alexandre Vinokourov make a nice move? While his team Astana Qazaqstan is still shaken by the dismissal of Miguel Angel Lopez, which the Kazakh leader recently justified, he is a sprinter who could wear the sky blue jersey during the 2023 season. While his name came back to be the headliner of Jérôme Pineau’s team before the project collapsed, Mark Cavendish is looking for a place in a leading team, able to align him with the next Tour de France during which he hopes to beat Eddy Merckx’s stage victory record. While the rumor of an interest from the American formation Human Powered Health has recently made headlines, it is the Astana Qazaqstan team that could win the jackpot in the days to come. According to information from the Italian daily The Sports Gazette, an agreement has recently been reached after several days of negotiations between the leaders of the Kazakh formation and the entourage of the “Man of Man”.
Cycling, exclusive: it’s done, #Cavendish will run with the#Astana. He goes to retreat on Monday #Spain https://t.co/PEzn196z5v
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) December 18, 2022
Cavendish can count on Bol
While Vincenzo Nibali retired and Miguel Angel Lopez was fired, the recruitment of Mark Cavendish would be a change of perspective for Alexandre Vinokourov and his team. The intervention of the supplier of Kazakh training cycles, the Italian brand Wilier, would have facilitated the negotiations thanks to an additional financial contribution. According to The Sports Gazette, Mark Cavendish is expected this week in the Spanish town of Calpe, where the riders of the Astana Qazaqstan team are in full training camp, to join his new teammates and discover his new equipment. To support him, Alexandre Vinokourov is also said to have an agreement with Dutch sprinter Cees Bol, which was also left on the floor by the failure of the project wanted by Jérôme Pineau. The former DSM rider should thus be an integral part of the train set up for the “Man of Man”, who could also count on Luis Leon Sanchez, Samuele Battistella or Gianni Moscon. An arrival which has all the trappings of an ultimate challenge for Mark Cavendish.
