"He proved in the last Tour that he still has it" - Bernie Eisel backing former teammate Mark Cavendish to make more history after prolonging retirement

On the second rest day of the 2023 Giro d'Italia, an emotional Mark Cavendish, surrounded by his family, announced his intention to wind down his career. After crashing out of the Tour de France, just a day after coming so close to taking a record 35th stage win however, has ensured plans have changed.

Bernie Eisel is a former Team Sky and Dimension Data teammate of 'the Manx Missile' and whilst he finds himself a sports director at BORA - hansgrohe, the Austrian couldn't help but share the delight that his good friend will return with a vengeance in 2024.

"He thought about it for a long time, but in my opinion it was absolutely the right decision," Eisel tells Eurosport. "He proved in the last Tour that he still has it. If his chain hadn't broken on the stage to Bordeaux, he might have achieved more than second place."

In a good show of faith, Astana Qazaqstan Team have also reinforced their sprint train in order to give Cavendish the best possible opportunity to make history. "Now the team has hired one of the best riders in Michael Mørkøv and another very fast man in Max Kanter, which will make the approach to the sprint more relaxed for Cavendish," Eisel notes. "He can then concentrate fully on the actual sprint and arrive where he wants to be in the perfect position without losing any energy beforehand."