"It is unique to ride in a team where the sprinter is the priority" - Michael Morkov eager to link up with Mark Cavendish in search of Tour de France success
Cycling
Michael Morkov is one of the most experienced and valuable leadout riders in the peloton. Hence, Astana Qazaqstan have signed him in the pursuit of the best sprinter setup possible, and the Dane is very motivated to make it work alongside Mark Cavendish.
"It is a year of racing with Mark, who is going for the stage victory in the Tour de France. He is a rider for whom I can make a difference and for whom I can do a lot," Morkov told Feltet. "That's why I'm very motivated for next year. They have built an entire team around Mark. For a sprinter like me, it is unique to ride in a team where the sprinter is the priority. You often see in many other large teams that the sprinter and the lead-out are the second or third choice. This means that it can be difficult for them to start in the major races. Here the hierarchy is clear; I'm looking forward to a great season with Mark."
Astana have gone all-in on this mission. After Cavendish decided to postpone his retirement, the ultimate goal to win a 35th record-breaking Tour de France win continues. The Kazakh not only signed Morkov but also teammate Davide Ballerini. Together with these two riders who teamed up with Cavendish in his extremely successful comeback 2023 season, the team also signed former leadout man Mark Renshaw first as an adviser and now as a DS, and his coach in the Belgian team Vasilis Anastopoulos.
It is full dedication towarda a specific goal and the Dane is happy with that. Not only of his future teammates and setup but also the team management: "I have a very good impression of [Alexandre] Vinokourov and I feel that he is a man who is incredibly committed to the team. And, in his own way, has a great focus on the sporting side."
Morkov also looks to perform on the track at the Olympic Games, perhaps the final big goal of his career as the 38-year old comes close to retirement. "It was a great success in 2021 and of course I hope it can be done again, but there are a lot of things that have to come together. Moreover, it is of course quite a gamble. A lot can happen during the Tour, but there really is no other way than to believe in the best."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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