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news
Mark Cavendish Astana (Image credit: Astana Qazaqstan)Mark Cavendish signs for Astana Qazaqstan for 2023 season
The Mark Cavendish transfer saga has finally come to an end.
Still waiting? pic.twitter.com/rZz1YWeoT1
— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) January 17, 2023
Cavendish joins the team on a deal for the 2023 season and said he is "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.
"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.
The pictures you were waiting for… @MarkCavendish #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/wbODn7Yj4E
— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) January 17, 2023
"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."
It is the news the cycling world has been expecting for weeks. At the weekend Cavendish was spotted, seemingly loading an Astana team car at Alicante airport and was yesterday reportedly seen training with his new teammates.
The rumours were already established by the time Cav's first Astana-related sighting emerged back in December — grainy footage of a jersey suspiciously similar to his British national champion's outfit aboard an Astana-liveried Wilier near where the team was at training camp on the Spanish coast.
Hailing the signing, team boss Alexandr Vinokourov said: "Well, Mark Cavendish doesn't need any presentation. He is the best sprinter of all time and I am happy to welcome Mark in Astana Qazaqstan Team.
"The arrival of a top sprinter in our team is a kind of challenge for us, but we are ready for it. We see new ways and new possibilities. 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.
"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."
Dan joined road.cc in 2020, and spent most of his first year (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. At the start of 2022 he took on the role of news editor. Before joining road.cc, Dan wrote about various sports, including football and boxing for the Daily Express, and covered the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for The Non-League Paper. Part of the generation inspired by the 2012 Olympics, Dan has been 'enjoying' life on two wheels ever since and spends his weekends making bonk-induced trips to the petrol stations of the south of England.
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7 comments
Good luck, Cav.
We're all rooting for a great season ahead.
It would be the icing on the cake if you notch one more over the great Belgian master.
Dirty tricks of last season.... IMO.
You'll have to work your knackers off!
Then go write a book!
If there's one team with the right pedigree for getting wins late in careers, it's Astana with their doping program
I didn't think he could make it last time, and I was very pleased to be wrong. I hope he's there and I hope he wins a stage but I won't be despondent if he doesn't- he has nothing else to prove.
It's really great news, but I'm just worried about him losing his coach Vasilis Anastopoulos. You were pretty much guaranteed a Cav win if he'd been putting in the hours on the track in Greece with Vasilis in the run up to a race. He's a great coach, I just hope he wasn't Cav's lucky charm too.
Yay! TDF stage win please please please.
Fingers crossed!
More than one please to make up for missing last years' TDF.