Vasilis Anastopoulos mentored Mark Cavendish into the record books in 2021 when he reached 34 Tour de France stage-stage wins with Deceuninck Quick-Step.
And now the Greek trainer-turned-confidante is plotting “Project 35” for 2024 with the Manxman and Astana-Qazaqstan.
“We said in 2021 before he won four stages that it was a miracle Mark was back at the Tour de France. Back then, I believed Mark could keep winning. Fast-forward three years later, I still think the same,” Anastopoulos told Velo.
Cavendish confirmed last week he’d extend his career into a 19th pro season in 2024.
The mission to become the rider with the most Tour de France stage wins on record will be front and center of every pedal stroke Cavendish makes in what will be his second season with Astana-Qazaqstan.
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Cavendish’s leadout train gets a full “Quick-Step-ifictation” for 2024 as Astana-Qazaqstan goes all-in for “Project 35”.
The arrival of Anastopoulos and Cavendish’s Quick-Step pilots Michael Mørkøv and Davide Ballerini will give “The Manx Missile” the best chance at kicking to a victory that will take him clear of fellow 34-time winner Eddy Merckx.
“We saw how close Mark was before he crashed out of the Tour this year. If he arrives next year with the changes I hope to make and in the best possible condition, I think he can do it. He also believes that can do it, otherwise he wouldn’t continue,” Anastopoulos said in a call.
“Of course, he’s one year older now, he’s 39, and there are a lot of fantastic young sprinters around. But Cav’s still Cav.”
Astana-Cav-Step 2024
Astana-Qazaqstan team boss Alexander Vinokourov got serious with “Project 35” this winter.
Former Soudal Quick-Step trainer Anastopoulos will become head of performance for 2024. Leadout mastermind Mørkøv and barreling Italian rouleur Ballerini will follow him from the Belgian team.
“‘Morky’ and Ballerini were the last guys in the train for Mark in ’21, and we saw how well that worked out,” Anastopoulos said on the phone last week.
“I think ‘Morky’ is the best leadout man in the world, even now,” he continued. “He didn’t show full potential during the races this year, but to me, he’s by far the smartest, most experienced guy to lead Mark at the Tour de France. And Ballerini is a super-strong athlete. Those three combined together so well before.”
Vinokourov threw Cavendish a career lifeline and put Astana-Qazaqstan into the spotlight when he signed the then 38-year-old late last winter.
Cavendish struggled all winter but got his sprinter legs back just in time to appear looked poised to repay his boss’ investment at the Tour. Yet a crash and fractured collarbone blew Cavendish out of the race, less than 24 hours after skipping gears left him devastated with second in Bordeaux.
Vinokourov is now intent for the vision he dreamed for Cavendish and his team last winter to become reality.
“It’s no secret the Tour de France is the biggest target for ‘Vino’ and Mark next year. All that counts is the stage win … or wins,” Anastopoulos said.
“For that, we need Mark’s performance to be at its very best, but also the leadout. We’ll have that old winning combination back from 2021. And we’ll have Cees Bol, [Vevgeniy] Federov, [Alexey] Lutsenko, and Ide Schelling from Bora. That’s a very, very, strong group for Mark for 2024.”
Race less, win more
On paper, Astana-Qazaqstan stands to take one of the strongest committed leadout units in the peloton to the 2024 Tour de France. Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jayco-AlUla will muscle alongside with Jasper Philipsen and Dylan Groenewegen.
Philipsen reconfirmed his status as the peloton’s alpha sprinter Sunday when he blasted the stage one sprint at Tour of Turkey. Cavendish was lost in the wheels and didn’t even get to test his post-fracture form.
Sunday’s ride into Antalya was Cavendish’s 66th race-day of the year – a haul that puts him toward the top end of the peloton.
“I would like Mark to do fewer races compared to this year, especially as we know now there’s only one true target for 2024,” Anastopoulos said last week.
“I think he raced too much – but he wanted to race as much as possible, he thought it was his last season.”
Cavendish raced a strength-sapping 57 times before he lined up for the 2023 Grand Départ, and only had his one victory at the Giro d’Italia to show for it.
“Last year he had a difficult winter with the B&B team problems, and then he just started racing. He was just bouncing from race to race, and he didn’t finish a lot of them,” Anastopoulos said. “I want things to be more focused next year.”
The “Quick-Step-ification” of Cavendish’s sprint universe will extend into his training structure for 2024.
The Manxman was tapping Anastopoulos for advice through 2023 as he tried to mimic winning workouts he followed at Quick-Step.
Cavendish won’t need to rely on a handful of cross-team WhatsApp messages for training advice next year.
“He didn’t work in the way that he used to work with me at Quick-Step this year. We would have specific training camps, specific race periods, more camps, and then to target races,” Anastopoulos said.
“I’m hoping in my role with Astana to bring in some of that model, especially for Mark. More altitude, more blocks of specific training, and specific racing.”
A happy Cavendish is a winning Cavendish
Anastopoulos said he’d been in contact with Astana-Qazaqstan since before this summer’s Tour de France – months before Cavendish’s career extension was on the table.
He wasn’t going to credit his switch to the Kazakh-backed team as playing a part in Cavendish’s decision to prolong retirement. But it may well have helped.
“Mark and I still have a great relationship that goes beyond the rider and coach relationship. So I was always open to his questions and to advise him,” Anostopoulos said.
“I was in contact with him all year, on and off. After I signed to Astana I told Mark, then he later decided to continue. It was the best possible scenario.”
When he extended his contract, Cavendish said that he felt right at home with Astana-Qazaqstan.
The arrival of Anastopoulos, Mørkøv, and Ballerini will be like having his long-lost brothers back in the house.
“Mark’s mental space will be one of the biggest factors next year. Now with a group around him, he can be confident because he trusts all of those guys, and he trusts me,” Anastopoulos said.
“He knows that if we do the jobs we need to do then he can arrive at the Tour in a perfect position to win again.”
Anostopoulos is set to meet with Astana-Qazaqstan staffers and riders later this month and will put his eyes on all of Cavendish’s 2023 power files for the first time.
“Project 35” clicks into gear then.
