He’s running out of options.

Will he get a ride?

I certainly hope so….he needs that 1 more tdf win 🙂

I think he might struggle to get a place – a lot of teams will have already made their signings for the forthcoming season

Any value to the conspiracy theory that the cycling Illuminati will keep him from that last win?

Having said that, anyone who sponsors him for that win will have their brand in photos forever.

Someone will take a punt because of the above. He might have to accept a hefty pay cut, but doubt he’s short of a few quid and imagine he cares far more about the record than money anyway.

Quikstep didnt pay his wages,

Suddenly space on Astana, they just dropped Miguel Angel Lopez due to doping doc connections

I really hope it’s not Astana. I’d be fairly happy with him anywhere but not there please.

This article assesses the options and thinks Ineos might be one or even Total if they can work out how to get him and Sagan on the same team…

The dwindling options available to Mark Cavendish and co. for 2023

He’s clutching at straws now I fear!

It’s not even the money either (Quickstep didn’t pay him a penny), it’s the loss of another rider in any team who would be a much stronger domestique to support any GC riders in order to make way for him, that would potentially hurt…

What has any team got to gain from being the team he was riding for when he got his 33rd win…? Absolutely nothing!

Unfortunately for Cav, I don’t think it is going to happen… Though I’d love to be proved wrong!

What has any team got to gain from being the team he was riding for when he got his 33rd win…? Absolutely nothing!

Eh!

On the Never Strays Far podcast, Ned Boulting was speculating about him going to Ineos for one year… Pete Kenaugh said Cav has a team lined up, is happy and motivated…

The 33rd win gets eternal publicity as the man who broke Eddys record.

Massive for any team but perhaps not something a Belgium team would have the cojones to execute.

What has any team got to gain from being the team he was riding for when he got his 33rd win…? Absolutely nothing!

The entire business model of Pro Cycling is advertising and the publicity the riders bring. Cav generated a fair bit at last years TdF and he wasn’t even there.

i mean he’s won 34 to equal Merckx, the 33rd was irrelevant,

i assume he’ll go to Ineos and we’ll get “Project 35”

Eh!

Apologies… Meant 35th.

It’s an individual achievement though… Any team that had helped him get a significant number of those wins, or even all of them, would rightly have something to celebrate. A team that’s literally providing him with a seat to be able to facilitate that personal record breaking feat (that a lot of Europeans don’t want him to get, especially Belgians!) means very little to them at all in the grand scheme of things. It’ll mean the world to Cav and his supporters of course, but he’s old news in the peloton and the record he’s aiming for is irrelevant now to anybody else anyway!

i assume he’ll go to Ineos and we’ll get “Project 35”

cheapest advertising Ineos can buy. They don’t even have to pay him a salary. Win bonus is all Cav needs to get a ticket to ride. He’s a decent team mate too, good for morale and works hard. Just not a JV diesel

regarding Astana, last person to ride for them with no wage/bonus? answers on a postcode

Having said that, anyone who sponsors him for that win will have their brand in photos forever.

This is why I find astonishing the no-one has signed him, even if putting together a “cheap” contract for that one race.

Total if they can work out how to get him and Sagan on the same team…

I don’t see that as a problem, they are not likely to be racing for the same type of stage finishes.

I don’t see that as a problem, they are not likely to be racing for the same type of stage finishes.

I don’t think the conflict in racing style is the main issue behind putting them on the same team tbh. Cavendish is quite open about what he thinks of Sagan…

Given what happened in 2017 I’d be very surprised if Cav and Sagan end up on the same team

What a shame if Cav can’t get a team place.
Time is running out, but there’s still hope. Come on Ineos, what have you got to lose?

I’d assume he’s putting the training in to be ready. Obviously it’s a dedicated role for someone in a team to take him on for… but if you’re a lesser team, you don’t even need to give him a decent leadout to get a win, he’d still pick up wins in some stages just by surfing wheels and getting it right i’d bet. Whilst i don’t think he’s quite where he was back in the day, he’d still get a lower team more wins than if they didn’t have him in the squad.

He’s been spending far too much time on Zwift of late, instead of looking for a proper job. 😉

Come on Ineos, what have you got to lose?

Well for the tour a space that would be taken by a domestique which is probably more use if you’re looking at winning. More so as the mountains start at stage five.

Well for the tour a space that would be taken by a domestique which is probably more use if you’re looking at winning. More so as the mountains start at stage five.

Have they signed anyone who can win the Tour then ?

Have they signed anyone who can win the Tour then ?

It’s an interesting one, Cav could well be their biggest story, but backing him is a bit like walking into a Casino and putting all your money down on the roulette table.

But based upon last year you wouldn’t pick any of their main GC guys to win if the Jumbo boys and Pog turn up for it. ?

Not unless they’ve improved dramatically over winter. They’re up there with ‘best of the rest’ but they can’t quite match the current cream of the crop IMO. So what, you take Carapaz to finsh 3rd… or Cav to win a stage… Mmmmm

Well, Carapaz has left Ineos for EF Education Easypost, but your point is otherwise sound. Go for stage wins rather than GC?

Well, Carapaz has left Ineos for EF Education Easypost

Ah, didn’t know that 😀

Carapaz has gone to EF, Thomas is riding the Giro. So Ineos could send Pidcock to send to ride his first attempt at GC, and they have Bernal who is returning from his massive injuries – neither is winning the Tour really (nor are Tao or Sivakov). I think they can find a spot for Cav for a season. Looks to be about 6 sprint stages on offer.

Ineos (Sky) have got form for using him for some glory on a dead cert year (2012) and have got any amount of cash it seems, so why the hell not?! Like him or not, a cardboard cutout of Cav outside the team bus would generate more attention than a lot of the pro tour peloton, it’s all about publicity.

The only problem I see is Dave allowing 3 Ineos riders to drag Cav over the mountains to get him to the finish on time.
Apart from that he’d fit in well.

He doesn’t have to finish the race – he only needs one stage to be the biggest news of the tour.

Last stage is an ITT in Nice, not the usual Sprinters World Cup on the Champs Elysees, so unless he’s in the running for the green jersey it’s doubtful he’d finish

The Nice ITT is 2024.

The Nice ITT is 2024.

d’oh!

I think they can find a spot for Cav for a season.

Dumb question, but would they need to bring on board someone to lead Cav out – Renshaw, Morkov etc?

According to Cycling news on facebook, Cav has definitely signed a contract.

Cyclingnews are just repeating the Pete K statement from the NSF podcast mentioned above. Fingers crossed that it’s true.

La Gazzetta reports Mark Cavendish has signed for Astana, also Cees Bol who was due to be part of the B&B lead out train https://t.co/jZSHvoA5xG (🇮🇹)

— the Inner Ring (@inrng) December 18, 2022

That’s going to be a difficult like.