Mark Cavendish spotted with Astana Qazaqstan car at Alicante airport

Can anyone remember life before the 'who will Mark Cavendish sign for' days?

It seems like we've spent half our lives waiting for the Manx Missile to sign for first B&B Hotels-KTM and then Astana Qazaqstan after the former folded due to a lack of sponsorship.

> Is that Cav on a Wilier? British champion 'spotted' in Spain riding Astana-liveried bike

There have been sponsor event attendance rumours, Instagram messages from Paris and grainy pictures of a possible British national champ's jersey riding a Wilier, but now we have the clearest evidence yet of Cavendish's new team...

You tell me what and who this appears to be.

(Photo from a little birdie in Spain) pic.twitter.com/syJciXT6eN

— Caley Fretz (@CaleyFretz) January 13, 2023

The picture comes courtesy of former CyclingTips Editor-in-Chief Caley Fretz, who has since started a new podcast called The Placeholders, after a source of his spotted the recognisable face apparently loading up an Astana Qazaqstan team car with luggage at Alicante airport.

Masters of discretion.

— Service Course, LLC (@SC_Cycling) January 13, 2023

And while a great big vehicle plastered in team logos might not be the most inconspicuous transport for the yet to be announced signing, the consensus in the cycling world since before Christmas has been that Cav has already agreed a deal with the team.

The rumour mill was sparked by team boss Alexandre Vinokourov's comments after B&B Hotels folded... "I thought about Mark right away. I gave him a phone call saying if he was free then we could talk. It's true he's what? 35 or 36? (37) But what really matters is if he's motivated. I won the Olympic Games when I was nearing 40.

"He was the favourite that day, and maybe it was me who stopped him from getting his title of 'Sir'. But now there's the chance of breaking the record in the number of Tour wins."

Cavendish was not seen in the team's presentation nor team photo released at the start of 2023, likely due to it being taken at a training camp before he was linked to the team.

Astana Qazaqstan Team 2023!#AstanaQazaqstanTeam #AstanaIsMyTeam

📷 @SprintCycling pic.twitter.com/eUHCttYqpQ

— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) January 1, 2023

It is also unclear what, if any, impact the ongoing trial of men accused of robbing Cavendish's family home in Essex in November 2021 has had on the timing of any potential announcement.

Last week, a court heard that masked robbers punched Cavendish and threatened to "stab him up" in front of his children during the raid, while the sprinter and his wife Peta have given evidence at Chelmsford Crown Court in the past ten days.