Mark Cavendish un-retires, surprising no one

Mark Cavendish is coming back. On Wednesday, Astana Qazaqstan announced that their sprinter will un-retire. The 38-year-old rider said earlier this year he would be hanging up his cleats after 2023, but that all changed after he had to withdraw from The Tour de France.

Cavendish revealed his retirement plans in late May while competing in the Giro d’Italia. Shortly thereafter, he clinched victory in the final stage of that event before starting the Tour de France. During the Tour, Cavendish garnered multiple commendable finishes, including a notable second place in Bordeaux. Regrettably, in the eighth stage, he suffered a bad crash resulting in a fractured collarbone.

The Manx Missile was hoping to win his 35th win at the Tour, which would put him one up on Eddy Merckx. The British rider and Belgian currently share the all-time record at 34.

Watching Mark Cavendish say goodbye to his Astana Qazaqstan teammates is heartbreaking

In the video, he said he was looking forward to not training as much, but more importantly, spending more time with his kids. But the more he rode this summer, the more he started thinking about doing one year. And sure enough, when he asked his kids, they agreed.

Will Cav be able to take that one elusive Tour win? As a rider who is almost 40, the odds are against him. But if he does, what a story it will be.

Just one more year, hey? @MarkCavendish pic.twitter.com/ThgdbGaBzf

— Astana Qazaqstan Team (@AstanaQazTeam) October 4, 2023