Movistar quick to quash Mark Cavendish signing report

Italian press speculation over future of sprinter denied by Spanish team

Mark Cavendish Singapore
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Since 2008, when Mark Cavendish first burst on the scene at Grand Tour level with Team Columbia, the Manx sprinter has won 53 stages at the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. In the same time period, Movistar, the grand Spanish team, one of the stalwarts of the professional peloton, has won 46 Grand Tour stages.

The squad has endured a difficult few years, with relegation hanging over them for much of 2022, now they are out the other side, but could still do with some more wins on the board. 

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider is still without a team for 2023, with his two-year stint at Patrick Lefevere's squad coming to an end, and he is still stuck on 34 Tour stage wins, meaning he does not hold the record outright.

A new B&B Hotels project was expected to be the destination for Cavendish, after he did not have his contract renewed by Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. B&B would likely gain a wildcard invite to the Tour, which would help Cavendish on his quest to break the record.

However, on Monday evening, a planned press conference to launch the rebranded team run by Jerome Pineau, set for Wednesday, was postponed at short notice.

On Tuesday morning, the leading French sports newspaper L'Équipe published a report suggesting that none of the potential sponsorship contracts have been signed yet, with the team past the UCI's initial registration deadline. While Pineau has reportedly reassured riders, it still appears up in the air.

The Gazzetta piece suggested that Movistar DS Max Sciandri was interested in Cavendish - the pair have a long history which dates back to the sprinter's time at the British Cycling Academy.

Movistar wrote on Twitter: "Can we please, kindly remind everyone that we’re at 30 riders on our men’s team for 2023 (the UCI maximum) and this is just the desire of Max, who has been close friends with Cav for a long time."

They followed this up: "We understand it's a low month when it comes to news in cycling, but come on, some things are too much!"

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Adam Becket
News editor

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.

Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.