The moment when images of Mark Cavendish writhing on the tar in agony flashed across our screens during Stage 8 of the 2023 Tour de France is one that cycling fans will likely never forget. In what was to be Cav’s final Tour, he was one of the riders we were all watching, hoping he would make history by breaking his tie with Merckx for the most Tour stage wins in history.

And it looked like he was on track to do just that. The day before he had come in as a close second during Stage 7, when his gears ghost-shifting during the final sprint robbed him of just enough speed, allowing Jasper Philipsen to best him.

So when a touch of wheels during a distracted moment in the middle of Stage 8 resulted in what we would later learn was a broken collarbone for Cavendish, fans, fellow pro cyclists, and anyone even remotely following the Tour were heartbroken. Many fans the world over as well as fellow racers in the peloton shed tears.

Perhaps as a way to collectively console ourselves, fans began to speculate whether Cavendish will put off his planned retirement at the end of 2023 and sign on to race one more season, and line up for one more Tour. His team, Astana-Qazaqstan, certainly wants him to. So does the rest of the cycling world.

To date, Cavendish has neither confirmed nor denied any plans for the 2024 season. But it might be time for bike racing fans to become cautiously optimistic.

Cavendish underwent surgery for his collarbone and seems to be fully recovered. GCN recently reported that Cav has been spotted on training rides with fellow pros Chris Froome and Cameron Wurf.

Contract extension rumours have been swirling for months and Astana has done nothing but praise Cavendish to the press, signalling that they’re definitely game for another go around if Cav is.

The most promising sign yet that Cav is back in action—at least for the remainder of the 2023 season—is that he’s on Astana’s start list for the 2023 Tour of Türkiye on October 8. He’ll be lining up that day with his ace leadout man Cees Bol, which means that Cav will likely be looking for a good result during the eight-day stage race.

We here at Bicycling, along with every other cycling fan on the planet, will continue keeping our hopes up and our fingers crossed that we will get to see Mark Cavendish lining up for one more Tour de France in 2024. No pressure, Cav!