Record-chasing Mark Cavendish extends career by joining Astana

Veteran sprinter Mark Cavendish might still get a chance to claim the outright record for stage wins at the Tour de France.

Cavendish has joined AstanaQazaqstan to extend his storied career by one season and will be hoping to ride for the Kazakh team at cycling's biggest race in July. The 37-year-old British road champion and cycling great Eddy Merckx currently top the all-time list with 34 stage wins.

Cavendish equaled Merckx's record at the 2021 Tour de France, 13 years after his first stage win. Cavendish — who has never won the Tour, unlike fivetime champion Merckx — was not selected for last year's edition by his former Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team.

Astana is managed by former Olympic road champion Alexander Vinokourov. Adding a big name like Cavendish's to its roster is a welcome move for the team following the retirement of Vincenzo Nibali, and the firing in December of Miguel Angel Lopez for his alleged links with a doctor suspected of drug trafficking.

Known as "The Manx Missile" because he comes from the Isle of Man, Cavendish also won the Tour de France best sprinter's green jersey twice. He has won stages at all three Grands Tours — Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta — and became a world champion in 2011.

Vinokourov won the 2006 Spanish Vuelta and four individual stages at the Tour de France between 2003-10.

He was banned for two years after testing positive for blood doping at the 2007 Tour but came back to win the men's road race at the 2012 London Olympics. He started his managerial career after retiring that year.