There is little doubt about it; Mark Cavendish's move from Etixx-QuickStep to MTN-Qhubeka (or Dimension Data, by the time he begins riding there) is one of the most intriguing cycling transfers in recent memory.
Whichever way you look at it, there is something slightly incongruous about the idea of the greatest sprinter of all time riding for a Pro Continental team. It also seemed a touch undignified for someone who has won 26 Tour de France stages and has only recently turned 30 to be unwanted by his team and struggling to find other options.
That, however, is more a reflection of the nature of the transfer market than of Cavendish himself, who, despite a waning success rate in Grand Tours, is still among the peloton’s most prolific winners. As he moves towards the twilight of his career, and continues to try and prove that his best years are not in fact behind him, the move represents something of a gamble, but will it pay off?
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Only time will tell, of course, and at this juncture it is difficult to predict how things will shape up and play out for the Manxman. Etixx-QuickStep is clearly a far stronger all-round outfit than MTN. He will certainly miss the horsepower of Tony Martin, Zdenek Stybar, Michal Kwiatkowski and others, and you can’t help but feel that Dimension Data won't have the ability to command the bunch and lead a chase in the same way, at least initially.
That said, it was a rare occurrence during Cavendish’s three-year spell at Etixx that he had everyone gathered round him and dedicated to his cause. In a team that boasts such an array of talent, most riders had their own goals to think about and, despite claims things were steadily improving, Cavendish never really honed things into a smooth and consistent operation.
There has been plenty of talk of getting the band back together with the follow-up signings of Mark Renshaw and Bernard Eisel, Cavendish's support men from the finely-tuned, highly-successful HTC Highroad set-up. Though reunions can often be terrible ideas, there is no reason why they can't be the next Take That and enjoy renewed success. Their new team is hardly inexperienced when it comes to sprinting, either, with the likes of Tyler Farrar, Theo Bos, and Edvard Boasson Hagen amid the ranks.
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