"He could stay with the team, that's for sure, but not as a rider" - Astana Qazaqstan Team keen for Mark Cavendish to join coaching staff after retirement

With legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish now almost halfway through the final year of his professional career, Astana Qazaqstan Team boss Alexander Vinokourov has opened the door for the Manx Missile to continue with the team post-retirement.

"I don't think he's going to continue for another year. He could stay with the team, that's for sure, but not as a rider," Vinokourov says in conversation with Cycling News. "After his crash last year, I just said to Mark, 'A rider like you can't finish like this.' If he'd made it to Paris, then ok, he could have said, 'I gave it a go and I didn't manage it…' But I think he could have won a stage on last year's Tour – maybe even in Paris because we saw that Jasper Philipsen didn't win there."

After his recent stage win at the Tour de Hongrie, momentum is growing for Cavendish as he heads towards the Tour de France this year, the 38-year-old will start the race with the full backing of Vinokourov and the Astana Qazaqstan Team. "With Mark, we're always confident, but it's good for him and the team to win," Vinokourov explains. "All sprinters are all the same – they all want to win. Mark had some mechanical issues in Turkey, and I think without that, he might have already been able to win there. But in any case, he's got a good level and now he just needs to work some more towards the Tour."

"The legs always follow the head. Your head has to be right first, so in that sense, it's important that Mark is so happy on this team," Vinokourov said. "Now he just has to work hard in the last part of his approach to the Tour. He needs to work on his climbing a bit first and then he'll do a little bit of work on his sprint before the Tour. The Tour is the goal, and we'll do our best to be successful there. I think he's capable of doing it. He needs to find a good moment and a good day, and we've got a good lead-out around him with Cees Bol and Michael Morkov."