"It will be Davide Ballerini, me, Michael Morkov" - Cees Bol on Mark Cavendish's planned leadout train in 2024

Mark Cavendish has postponed his retirement and will ride the 2024 season for the Astana Qazaqstan Team. As he attempts to take sole ownership of the Tour de France stage win record however, what will his leadout train look like?

For the answer to this question, we reference GCN's recent interview with Cees Bol. "It can change sometimes, but as we see it now, it will be Davide Ballerini, me, Michael Morkov," Bol explains. "But it can depend on the shape of the riders, the parcours we are doing or for unknown reasons in the finale. I think that’s also good that Davide, me and Michael, all three of us have the speed to be the last man, but Michael has the experience and the overview, so he is proven to be the last man."

With Mark Renshaw coaching, this looks like a positive train for the 'Manx Missile' and in Morkov, Cavendish has someone who knows him well. "Today we did lead-out training, but also just the town sign sprints we do are on a high level - of course, we prioritise safety first - but they are important to work like that, make fun," says Bol. "At the same time, if Michael starts his sprint, you already know that it is in the right moment."

"We are getting the feeling together for the momentum and the speed and the slipstream, but for sure with the way we talk about the execution of these training sessions and how we did, you can feel everybody knows what they are talking about," Bol concludes. "They are great riders but they are also really good guys, so it’s a pleasure to train with them everyday."