Mark Cavendish not moving to Team Katusha
Mark Cavendish’s future team is undoubtedly the biggest mystery, all the professional continental teams are trying to solve.
The cyclist has decided to end his associations with the British side, Team Sky after spending a period of one-year.
It was rumoured that the Manxman might join Team Katusha but the news have now been annulled by the Team Sports Director Valerio Piva.
“Obviously we showed real interest in Mark,” Piva told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Katusha wants to win as much as possible and a top sprinter like Mark gives you guarantees”.
“But Cavendish still has two years left on his contract, so there is a hefty buy-out clause. I’m not sure what team would be willing to pay”.
“There were contacts with his personal manager but in the last few weeks I haven’t heard anything more. To my knowledge, he is no longer an option for our team”.
The 27-year-old started his professional crusade with Team Sparkasse in 2005 and spent a period of two-years with the side.
He accepted an offer from Team T-Mobile in 2006 and looked pretty comfortable under the American squad.
Team T-Mobile, later on known as Team HTC-Highroad announced its exit from professional cycling by the end of 2011 season because of financial constraints.
Mark had no other option but to find a new home for the 2012 season and he signed a three-year deal with Team Sky in 2012.
He is still under contract with the team for two more years but the cyclist has shown discontent towards the side, whose main focus was towards Bradley Wiggins and Christopher Froome at the Tour de France 2012.
The Manxman won the point’s classifications during the Tour de France 2011 and received no support from the team to defend his green jersey.
Patrick Lefevere of Team Omega Pharma-QuickStep has already shown interest towards signing Cavendish but there is still no confirm news of his future team as yet.
Mark will now be seen in action at the Tour of Britain where he will warm up to ensure his best form ahead of the UCI Road World Championships 2012.
He succeeded during the 2011 version of the race and is in great shape to defend his rainbow jersey in Netherlands this year.
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