The manager who oversaw Mark Cavendish during his most successful period as a sprinter believes the Englishman could return and fight for his 35th stage win at the Tour de France, but the Astana Cazacstan racer does He insists that there should be no immediate decision to do so.

"He has the talent and speed to do it, but he needs to think long and hard about what it means to stick around for another season," Rolf Aldag told Cycling News.

Aldag, now with Bora-Hansgrohe, is the former head sport director of HTC-Highroad, where Cavendish won 74 of his 162 career victories. Aldag then served as Cavendish's performance director again at Qhubeka/Dimension Data from 2015-2019, where Cavendish won the yellow jersey and four stage wins at the 2016 Tour de France.

Ardagh was at this year's Tour, where Cavendish crashed on stage 8 with a broken collarbone. He finished second in Bordeaux 24 hours later, even though he had gear trouble late in the race and could have missed the win.

The question of whether the British rider would postpone his retirement for a year rather than retire at the end of the season as planned has led to much speculation.

Cavendish has yet to speak publicly about the matter, but even Eddy Merckx, who shares a 34-stage record with Cavendish, has said that Astana's Kazakstan Pro should continue. Astana team manager Alexander Vinokurov has already said he wants Cavendish to continue until 2024.

"My gut feeling is that he should take his time to recover and breathe in and out," he said.

"If he were to come back, if I were him, I would say he needs some conditions and further support.

"I should thank Astana for giving me the opportunity to race in 2023. Thank you all so much for helping me. But if you want me to continue, I have to work on point 1, point 2, and point 3.

Cavendish praised his Astana teammates throughout the Tour, saying they "nailed it" on one stage.

However, by their own admission, Astana has no tradition of supporting sprinters, and it was Dutch lead-out man Cees Boll who signed Cavendish after he joined them.

"I would do that. Would he be able to come back? Aldag himself is a former professional player. 'I've changed my mind over the last couple of decades. When I was a rider, for example, I couldn't understand why an absolute idol like Sean Kelly kept riding when even I could win. Shouldn't he have stopped?

"I think completely differently now. If you are not riding for others, but for yourself, then let them ride as long as they want.

"If this is truly my passion and what I love to do, I don't care what the world thinks, what the media or cycling fans think.

"If your attitude is: OK, I've won a lot, but I still want to be part of the whole and that's what I enjoy.

However, Aldag warned that Cavendish's second place in Bordeaux was so important that he did not remember what Cavendish had to do to be in the right place at the right time.

"There is certainly a corner of his mind that says, 'I can still do it.' But in the corner of his mind should also be all the effort he expended there."

"I don't think there have been many years when Mark Cavendish has worked as hard as he has for this year's Tour de France.

"Watching him, it wasn't like he came in late, or was too big, or had weight issues, or this or that. No, he ran the Giro and won that stage. It was a big investment

Also, looking back, how many times, aside from the early days when you are flying, did Mark run two Grand Tours in a row? [Before 2023, 2013 - Editor]

Aldag, who has worked with Cavendish for many years, insists that "it's his talent, passion, and instinct that make him win."

"But for him to reach the sprint, he probably has to work harder than most. Now, can he handle that hard work two years in a row?

Therefore, Aldag believes it may be important for Cavendish in the short term to focus less on emotion and more on calm answers.

"I saw how the chain twisted (after the Bordeaux stage).

"So, of course, the first reaction is, "I know we can do it," "All we need is the right lead-out," "All we need is the right team support, then we can win three stages."

"But now, with that in mind, looking at the training files, looking at the time away from home, looking at the mental struggles that the older guys have, I think, "Oh, modern cycling is crazy, I can't believe how much risk these young kids are taking ...... " and I think, "Oh my God, I can't believe how much risk they're taking.

"On the other hand," Aldag argues, "if everything goes well and there are more sprint opportunities and more tools to increase chances, Cavendish could win his 35th stage win in 2024."