Mark Cavendish will have a familiar figure by his side in his last Tour de France as Mark Renshaw will join Astana-Kazakstan for the duration of the race as "sprint and leadout consultant."

Renshaw was Cavendish's lead-out man for nine seasons at High Road, Quick Step, and Dimension Data and has earned a reputation as the leading lead-out man in the peloton. The Australian retired from racing at the end of the 2019 campaign. He served as safety manager at last year's World Championships in Wollongong.

"I am really thrilled to be returning to the Tour de France as sprint and lead-out consultant with the Astana Kazakstan team and Mark Cavendish," Renshaw said in a statement released by the team on Thursday.

"After discussing the possibility of joining the Astana Kazakstan team with Alexandre Vinokurov and my former teammate Dmitry Fofonov, I am very excited to bring my skill set to help the team pursue success. I look forward to working with them."

Cavendish announced last month that 2023 will be his last season as a professional player. The Manxman signed with Astana in January after a move to B&B Hotels failed to materialize due to the team's collapse. He won a group sprint in Rome on the final day of the Giro d'Italia, his first win with Astana.

Cavendish, who tied Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins at the 2021 Tour de France, will have a chance to surpass that record before retiring. After the Tour presentation last October, Cavendish said he had "seven or eight" sprint opportunities in this year's Tour.

"Mark's career has already been very successful, but I'm excited to help him finish his career in the best possible way and chase his 35th victory at the Grand Boucle," Renshaw said.

Cavendish raced without a sprint train at the Giro, but newcomer Cees Bol is expected to be his last man at the Tour.

"His recent win at the Tour de Italia proves that Marc has the speed, power, and determination needed to win a Grand Tour stage. "With the support of the Astana Kazakstan team and the talented riders selected for this race, I am confident he has what it takes to win this year's Tour de France, and the fact that he cancelled his other commitments in July shows my confidence in him."