Mark Cavendish has confirmed to Cyclingnews that he will not ride Milan-San Remo in his final season, with Astana Qazaqstan's need to score WorldTour ranking points considered a priority over any farewell appearance for the Manxman in the Classic he won so dramatically in 2009.
Cavendish also won't ride the Giro d'Italia in his final season, having already confirmed he will ride the Tour de Hongrie in early May.
Winning a stage at the Tour de France and the stage win record remains the ultimate goal of the season for Cavendish. Astana Qazaqstan desperately need to score ranking points if they are to defend their place amongst the 18 WorldTour for 2026-2028 and so every rider has to chase points in races, including Cavendish.
Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto Dstny have scored a haul of points in 2023 and so far this season and seem on track to secure a WorldTour place in 2026. Astana Qazaqstan and Arkea-Samsic are 2000 points below 18th place and so need to change their racing strategy and chase points, as Lotto Dstny have done well in recent seasons.
It could be argued that Cavendish racing for a final season, and his shot at success in the Tour de France, is worth far more to the sport and to Astana Qazakstan than points scored in minor races. However, the UCI rules and places in the WorldTour are based solely on points, with no room for nostalgia or farewells.
Cavendish won Milan-San Remo in 2009, on his debut in the race. The peloton reformed in the streets of San Remo after the Poggio climb and Cavendish sprinted late to catch and pass Heinrich Hausler on the line. He went on to win his first stages at the Tour de France that summer and became arguably the most successful sprinter in history.
"Milan-San Remo will always be a special race for me but this season I also have a job to do," Cavendish told Cyclingnews at Tirreno-Adriatico, accepting his role in the Astana Qazaqstan team and their fight for ranking points. He is also chasing UCI points in the sprint stages of the Italian stage race but punctured during a final loop on stage 2 and race officials applied a 'barrage' making it difficult for him to return to the peloton via the team cars.
Cyclingnews understands that Cavendish will target Milan-Torino on Wednesday 13th March, three days before Milan-San Remo, while other riders have been selected for La Classicissima on Saturday 16th March.
A win at Milan-Torino is worth 200 UCI ranking points, with significant other points awarded to the top ten finishers. Milan-San Remo offers far more points to the top ten, however, Cavendish accepts he has little chance of scoring points, with the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and Christophe Laporte fighting for victory and likely to attack on the Poggio to ensure the race does not end in a sprint.
"I rode it last year," Cavendish pointed out to Cyclingnews after a long, emotive silence.
"It's changed as a race to what it once was, when I won it,"
He preferred not to respond in detail when asked if that was a good or bad thing for the sport.
"The sport is what it is," he said.
"I always watch the big one day races and I'll watch it with my son Casper, he loves the Classics, so it will still be a special day for me."
