Having gone into to the Tour de France as the form sprinter, Mark Cavendish returned with one stage win to his name, while rival Andre Greipel bagged four.

In fact Cav’s move to Etixx-QuickStep has been packed with ups and downs – a Giro d’Italia red jersey and his 100th career victory, which he has added a further 33 to, offset by that Tour de France crash in 2014 and ‘just’ the three Tour stages being added to his remarkable overall tally of 26.

But with his contract up this winter, and 20-year-old Colombian sprinting prodigy Fernando Gaviria on his way to the Belgian super team, is this it for Cavendish and QuickStep?

Stalling on the offer of a new contract could be Etixx-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere’s way of pushing Cavendish renewal price down but Trek Factory Racing are ready to step in. With lead-out man Mark Renshaw’s contract also up this year, there’s the possibility of a double swoop.

And Trek aren’t the only team being linked with Cav, with MTN-Qhubeka, whose lead-out train looks just one fast man short of being a serious contender thanks to Edvald Boasson Hagen, Matt Goss and Tyler Farrar already being on the books, also ready if they can get a big-money sponsor on board.

RCUK rumour rating: 2/5

We think Cavendish will be in Etixx-QuickStep colours next year, with Lefevere stepping in with a new contract and the Manx Missile lured by the security of the Belgian team, rather than a move to Trek, who have little sprint pedigree, or MTN-Qhubeka, who are yet to secure a WorldTour licence.