After months of negotiations with Tour de France points classification winner Mark Cavendish, QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere is getting annoyed that the talks have dragged on so long and wants the deal to be finished this weekend.
"It is annoying me that it is taking so long," the Belgian said to Het Laatste Nieuws. "I want to finish this on Saturday and I know he wants it, too. Otherwise, it will be delayed again."
When Cavendish was without a team at this time last year, he approached Lefevere looking to race at the minimum wage, but the team had no budget left so Cavendish brought in his own sponsors to fund his position.
In his new autobiography, Cavendish said "it was either Patrick and Deceuninck-QuickStep or I stopped racing."
The lifeline brought a season unlike any for the Manxman's past five years with a fairytale renaissance that included four stage wins in the Tour de France to equal the record set by Eddy Merckx.
Although Lefevere said in September that they had reached an agreement on wages and bonuses, the pair remain stuck on Cavendish's desire to transition into the role of a team director after a possible retirement at the end of the 2022 season.
"Mark Cavendish think his image is valuable, but I also think of the image of my team," Lefevere said. "When I ask him what he wants to do, he says he wants to watch me and learn. But do I have to pay someone to learn?"
Cavendish is currently racing with teammate Iljo Keisse at the Gent Six Day where they lie in fourth place, three laps down on the leaders after four days of racing.
