Mark Cavendish has been given a lifeline to seal his place in cycling’s record books with the offer of a one-year extension to his current contract.
Cavendish had announced this year would be his last in the peloton and the 38-year-old had been hoping to eclipse Eddy Merckx with a record 35th Tour de France stage win.
He got close to winning in Bordeaux on Friday only be undone by a mechanical fault and then crashed out on Saturday fracturing his collarbone and causing his retirement from the race.
It marked a potentially sad end to his Tour career but Astana general manager Alexandre Vinokourov has said he is now keen to offer Cavendish a fresh one-year deal to see him ride on.
Vinokourov told L’Equipe newspaper: “Yes, we want Mark to go on to 2024 and race his 15th Tour de France to win his 35th stage. I myself suffered a fractured femur in 2011 on the Tour and it was supposed to be my last year but I didn’t want to stop just like that.
“I stayed on and fought hard to win the Olympic Games in London the following year. Mark has the same mentality and the same determination to achieve his ultimate goal. We’re ready to give him that opportunity but it’s up to him.”
Following his exit from the race, Tour director Christian Prudhomme led the tributes to the British rider.
“He is the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour de France,” he said. “He wanted to try to win the 35th stage and he was second yesterday [on stage seven] and we thought he would succeed in doing his goal but today it’s over.
“It’s a very emotional day. He was just so sad after the fall. He’s sad, we are sad, the Tour de France is sad. He is so important for the Tour. Mark deserves the respect of the Tour, he always will be welcome, with or without his bike.”
Cavendish made his debut on the Tour in 2007 and won his first stage the following year when he won four stages in all. His best year was 2009 when he sprinted to six stage wins while he won the green jersey in 2021.
