Cavendish to retire soon?

[rafletcher]

Not retirement, but looking for work.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mark-cavendish-to-leave-quickstep-lefevere-says/

[Mr Larrington]

Ah, Belgium, man!

[farfetched]

What's not mentioned in that article is that Quick Step are joining forces with Soudal (current sponsor of the other belgian team) - The total budget will be raised 20-30% and they will be looking to build a team around potential GC riders, something QS have never really done before. Basically no (or limited) room for sprinters and less emphasis on winning the
classic one day events.

[Mr Larrington]

That'll cause ructions.  It'd be like Rangers & Celtic merging to form Glasgow United

[farfetched]

Its not a merger... Soudal are leaving lotto, I believe they have another sponsor. This has been reported on
local media here in NL/B - As i understand it Lotto will be relegated from the world tour as it stands.

[De Sisti]

Its not a merger... Soudal are leaving lotto, I believe they have another sponsor. This has been reported on
local media here in NL/B - As i understand it Lotto will be relegated from the world tour as it stands.

I wonder if they'll lose some of their star riders? A bit like footballers leaving a team when it has
been relegated from the premier league and them asking their agents to hook them up with a team in the top flight of soccer.

[rafletcher]

The Soudal-Deceunink merger was announced yesterday too I think, I saw the new kit.  And yes, Lotto will lose riders with a decent number of UCI points to other World Tour teams.  And whence Jakobsen if S-D are going for GC - he'll be like Cav at Sky.

[farfetched]

And whence Jakobsen if S-D are going for GC - he'll be like Cav at Sky.

Possibly, but I dont think they will have a competitive GC lineup next season, they said it was a 5 year plan.
As for riders leaving Lotto... it seems that riders can leave mid-contract if a team is relegated to Pro Continental.
Anyway its not a done thing, anyone of 3 or 4 teams are in the danger zone including Israel-Premier tech (Froome),
Bike Exchange and EF.

https://inrng.com/2022/06/uci-world-tour-21-june/

[Peter]

Its not a merger... Soudal are leaving lotto, I believe they have another sponsor. This has been reported on
local media here in NL/B - As i understand it Lotto will be relegated from the world tour as it stands.

I wonder if they'll lose some of their star riders? A bit like footballers leaving a team when it has
been relegated from the premier league and them asking their agents to hook them up with a team in the top flight of soccer.

Never quite understood howthey get away with that line.  Half the time a team disappoints because the "star" players were just not as good as anyone (including themselves) thought they were.  Manchester United have been a case in point for years.

[peterc]

QS-Alpha seem sure he isn't racing for them next year...

https://twitter.com/qst_alphavinyl/status/1579133185186668544

[DuncanM]

They basically announced they weren't renewing his contract around the point where they left him out of the Tour. Don't think he would stick around if no chance of the Tour and they are always struggling a little with budget, so he's better off going elsewhere to chase that one last stage win...

[rafletcher]

They basically announced they weren't renewing his contract around the point where they left him out of the Tour. Don't think he would stick around if no chance of the Tour and they are always struggling a little with budget, so he's better off going elsewhere to chase that one last stage win...

They also want to transition into a GC team, not be chasing stage wins all the time.

[CrazyEnglishTriathlete]

Still no news on Cav's proposed new team.  So would assume from the radio silence that sponsorship has not been forthcoming.

[spesh]

Still no news on Cav's proposed new team.  So would assume from the radio silence that sponsorship has not been forthcoming.

Based on a truffle through some other forums, Cav was reportedly going to be at B&B Hotels-KTM next year, and as of the middle of last month team manager Jérôme Pineau was still saying that Cav was part of his plans for next year, even though the sponsorship situation was looking somewhat uncertain.

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/racing/bandb-hotels-boss-mark-cavendish-wants-to-be-with-us-i-want-him-to-be-with-us (soft paywall)

On the other hand, it had been reported earlier last month that Cavendish and other signings had been told that they were free to seek alternative options.

https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/bb-hotels-future-uncertain-cavendish-and-others-free-to-look-for-alternative-options

Reading the Bike Radar thread on transfers and signings, there was apparently talk a couple of weeks ago on Global Cycling Network of Cav going to INEOS, but TBH, I wouldn't bank on it...

https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/13115519/2022-transfers-rumours-facts/p35

Opinion on the Cycling News forum transfers thread (where I found the CW link) is that if B&B does go under or has to drop down to Continental Team level, Cav will probably end up at Israel-Premier Tech.

https://forum.cyclingnews.com/threads/the-great-big-transfers-and-rumours-thread.35893/page-209 (and onwards)

All of which is a long way to say it's still all up in the air!

[rafletcher]

He's signed for Astana...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/64026016

[Hot Flatus]

Awesome   They have the best drugs.

[Karla]

Oh no Mark, does it have to end this way?

[Pedal Castro]

Awesome   They have the best drugs.

They all have the same drugs, just different ways of avoiding getting caught.

[rogerzilla]

It's a bit like Ronaldo going to work for the despotic head-choppers.

[cygnet]

Re: head-choppers Kazakhstan have recently rescinded the death penalty, unlike e.g. Bahrain (Victorious)

[Mr Larrington]

Awesome   They have the best drugs.

They all have the same drugs, just different ways of avoiding getting caught.

Only one team has Dr Ferrari’s Astana Beans^TM thobut

[robgul]

I wonder if he's contracted with them for a guaranteed TdeF start? - that's how I would have played it.

[rogerzilla]

Awesome   They have the best drugs.

They all have the same drugs, just different ways of avoiding getting caught.

Only one team has Dr Ferrari’s Astana Beans^TM thobut

On of the regrets of my life is that I never got to try one of those, although I was on that ride.

[rafletcher]

I wonder if he's contracted with them for a guaranteed TdeF start? - that's how I would have played it.

One would assume so, plus a guaranteed lead-out for the flat stages for himself.

[Mr Larrington]

Mark Cavendish robbery: Man guilty of armed raid at cyclist's home.. I hope he got the watches back.