Mark Cavendish broke his collarbone on stage eight of this year’s Tour de France as he sought a record-breaking 35th stage win; The 38-year-old had planned to retire this winter, but his Astana-Qazaqstan team posted clips of him on social media with the caption: “It’s not over yet”
Last updated: 10/23/04 10:39 am
British Mark Cavendish has decided to postpone his retirement plans
Mark Cavendish has postponed his retirement plans to continue racing in 2024 and target a record-breaking 35th stage win in the Tour de France.
On Wednesday, his Astana-Qazaqstan team posted on social media with video clips of Cavendish on the Tour, with the captain saying: “It’s not over yet”. The Manxman then confirmed the news of his return in a short video, saying: “Only one more year, huh?”
The 38-year-old previously announced during the Giro d’Italia in May that he planned to end his glittering career this winter.
Cavendish added in the video: “I was ready, I was at peace with it, but the more I’ve ridden this summer, I just love cycling.
“I talked to the kids: ‘What should daddy do?’ And it was, ‘Go ahead, it’s not a question,’ so here we are.”
Cavendish went into this summer’s Tour looking for the stage win that would keep him clear of Eddy Merckx after equaling the Belgian’s 34 stage wins in 2021.
But a day after coming within meters of victory in Bordeaux, hampered by a mechanical problem in the final, Cavendish crashed on stage eight and suffered a broken collarbone to end his race and his Tour.
Mark Cavendish broke his collarbone after a crash during the eighth stage of this year’s Tour de France
Since then there has been speculation that he could race, fueled by his Astana-Qazaqstan team boss Alexander Vinokourov who said he was keen to retain his services for another season.
Cavendish has not raced since his crash at the Tour but is expected to compete in the Tour of Turkey, which starts on October 8.
Cavendish joined the Astana team in 2023 after a planned move to B&B Hotels fell through, and took victory in the final stage of the Giro d’Italia in May, days after announcing his retirement plans.
Although silent on his future plans, the Astana team has continued to build a lead-in train to support its sprint ambitions, signing Max Kanter and Davide Ballerini. They have also been linked with Michael Morkov, who helped Cavendish win four stages of the Tour in 2021.
That was the year Cavendish defied the odds to level with Merckx’s record, having only joined the then Deceuninck-QuickStep team on a short-term minimum wage deal after being left without a contract at the start of the season, fearing his career would be ended. about.
But when an injury to Sam Bennett forced the Irishman out of the Tour, Cavendish seized the opportunity to roll back the years with a remarkable sporting comeback, winning stages four, six, 10 and 13.
They were his first Tour stage wins since 2016, completing a lengthy comeback from a battle with the Epstein-Barr virus and subsequent diagnosis of clinical depression.