Sir Mark Cavendish has hinted that his racing career might not be over yet, despite it previously being understood that 2024 would be his last year in the professional peloton.
The 39-year-old broke the Tour de France stage win record in July, with his 35th victory at the French Grand Tour, and was thought to be retiring at the end of the year. If that was the case, his last race would be the Tour de France Singapore Criterium in November.
After finishing the Tour in Nice, the Astana-Qazaqstan rider told reporters that it was “likely” his last ever professional bike race, though he later sidestepped a similar question.
Speaking to ITV Sport at the Tour of Britain Men, where he was honoured with a special podium presentation in Felixstowe on Sunday, Cavendish said he didn't know what was happening next. Asked if he'd be seen at the race next year, he replied: "Perhaps, I don’t know."
Tour of Britain race director Rod Ellingworth previously told Cycling Weekly that he would be “totally open” to the possibility of Cavendish being part of the stage race this year.
"I’m still racing in a couple of months," Cavendish said on Sunday. "I’m definitely not finished this year. I don’t know what happens after. I know I won’t be doing the Tour de France again. I said that before the Tour, I said it after the Tour. I’m taking care of my family, I’m chilling, I have actually taken time off before getting on the bike again, I’m training again now. I’ve had time to process it and [we'll] see what happens in the future."
After completing his final Tour, Cavendish hinted that a snap retirement decision was likely to follow. He had already delayed retirement from the sport in order to ride on for one more year to target a 35th win at the Tour, a goal that he has now achieved. It is thought that Astana-Qazaqstan are keen for the Manxman to remain in some role at the team, which will be gaining investment from Chinese firm XDS next season, but it was presumed that that would not be in a racing capacity.
Cavendish, who was knighted earlier this year, told reporters post-Tour: "I’ve been very, very lucky to have the career I’ve had, to work with people I’ve had, to meet the people I have, and to have been able to live a dream, everyone’s dream.
"You see the successes, the photos and videos of wins, but it’s very rare that people see everything that goes on behind, everything that makes that. It [cycling] has taught me a lot about myself, how to be a father, and that’s the biggest thing I’ll take from the sport."
