Mark Cavendish is finally allowed to put on the colours of the Astana Qazaqstan Team and officially end months of chase for a spot in the peloton. The Manxman will be starting his season at the Tour of Oman, and eyeing the Tour de France naturally.
At the Tour Down Under, Astana DS Stefano Zanini told Velonews: “It’s an honor to have a rider like Mark join our team. The team will create a leadout train to support Mark. It’s a new challenge for this team but we are committed to doing it.”
The Manxman is currently in Calpe training with a big block of the team, including new signings Cees Bol - who he was originally set to join at B&B Hotels-KTM - and several riders who will be forming his leadout train this year.
“Mark is motivated, and he will raise the level of everyone, from the riders and the staff. We can bring the riders to support him. Everyone believes Mark will be winning a lot of races," Zanini states. "We want to give the best possible support to allow him to do things as he always has. It’s an important for us to build a train for him in order to take on the races in the best possible way,” Zanini said.
“We have a good group of riders who can help him. It’s normal that it might cost us a bit of time to find the right feeling in the races. This team has the history of racing in the grand tours," he says. Cavendish has managed to virtually confirm his presence at the Tour de France, having gotten a spot at World Tour level.
Now he has the job of preparing himself as best as possible, as Astana are keen to help him take a record-breaking 35th win at the Grand Boucle. "Things are like that right now, but everyone is very, very motivated to have a big champion like him. The train will come together and we believe we can deliver Cavendish to the line.”
Cavendish will be starting his season off in familiar roads, as he travels to the middle east in search of pan-flat stages which suit his attributes. He will find plenty of them at the Tour of Oman, where he will begin his season in mid-February, and the UAE Tour.
“The early races will be important for the team to be able to work with Mark and create the feeling of a train. It will not be easy, but by later in the season, Mark will seeing the support he needs," he added.
The spring calendar is still largely undecided, but one thing is clear: “We will see about his calendar, but I am sure he will be doing the Tour de France."
“That’s the idea, and the big objective will be at the Tour this year. It’s never easy to win a stage at the Tour. The race is always hard at any Tour. But I believe if we do the work and we support him, I think it’s possible to win races with Mark,” Zanini concluded.
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“The level of is very high right now in the peloton for the sprints. There are other teams that have a committed train, so it’s important for us to work together and build out this project.
“Mark’s level is very good. He was working hard in Calpe,” Zanini said. “Mark is motivated to race. Let’s see what happens. It’s exciting for everyone. His palmarès are among the best in the world.”
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.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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