Mark Cavendish’s 2021 Tour de France campaign was one of the purest fairy tales in modern cycling. A prolific winner and superstar sprinter in the earlier stages of his career, the Manx rider had been suffering for over two seasons with injury and illness ahead of that Tour. During that time, many wrote off his chances of ever reaching his former level again; Cavendish was missing Tour de France selections altogether, let alone fighting for stage wins. As hard as this negative discourse around his racing career must have been to hear for the 37-year-old, it undoubtedly made his four stage wins in the 2021 Tour even more impressive: he’d done it despite all the naysayers.
Cavendish stands out as a rider because he has an unwavering self-belief. It’s his confidence in his ability that helped him to claw out of that pit of despair – a place where many professional athletes who are suffering from illness or injury find themselves – right back to the very top of professional cycling. It didn’t really matter to Cavendish what Twitter or Facebook said about his chances to win again, because he knew he could do it. “Always believe” has become Cavendish’s own slogan, sitting proudly in his Instagram biography as a constant reminder to everyone never to count him out.
Now over one year after that awe-inspiring 2021 Tour de France, Cavendish has almost come full circle. While it’s been respectable, this season hasn’t matched last year’s; the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team rider has secured five victories, including a win in the British National Championships and a stage of the 2022 Giro d’Italia. Now as the winter draws in and racing comes to an end, Cavendish once again finds himself without a confirmed contract, with Patrick Lefevere opting to not renew Cavendish’s contract for 2023.
Such an uncertain future leaves much speculation in its wake. The latest report on Cavendish’s next steps comes from French newspaper Ouest-France, who stated that the British rider will join Jérôme Pineau’s B&B Hotels Team on a one-year contract. As a UCI ProTeam, B&B Hotels would be a step down for Cavendish, as Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl currently sits in the men’s WorldTour. A report from WielerFlits said that Amazon France would be stepping on board as a financial backer for the French squad which will be revamped for 2023.
So if these rumours come to fruition, how will Cavendish fare on a new team? Could he reach that elusive 35th…