"We tried to bring Mark to our team. Cavendish is a legend" - Human Powered Health manager

Following the collapse of B&B Hotels-KTM, Mark Cavendish had several teams brought up as possibilities for 2023. Human Powered Health was one of them, and the manager of the American has discussed the possible transfer in a recent interview.

“We tried to bring Mark to our team. Cavendish is a legend of our sport and still competes at a very high level," team manager Jonas Carney told VeloNews. "For us it was an opportunity to improve our results, raise the level of our project and maybe get invited to some big races. It would also have been a learning opportunity for our riders. Unfortunately, however, it did not materialize. Looking ahead, we will look for other avenues to bring the best WorldTour riders into our squad.”

The American team has signed several fast men over the last few seasons and was for some days the most discussed possibility. However, the difficulty in obtaining a Tour de France wildcard would still be very high, and the Manxman has since looked into a different option.

“It's difficult, we race against teams that have a lot more resources and that have individual riders who are paid more than our entire team," Carney continued. "Then, if someone starts winning in our jersey, the WorldTour teams come and take them away and you're forced to build."

"For a formation of our level, it is a circle that cannot be broken, at least until the moment in which we ourselves cannot move up a category," Carney concluded.

At the time being Cavendish is, officially, still without a contract. However it is very likely that he is in deep contacts with Astana Qazaqstan Team and it's being rumoured that the transfer is not yet public as the parties are working on team and individual sponsors.