Mark Cavendish will start his season next month at the Tour Colombia 2.1 along with other Astana Kazakstan mainstays, including Mikhail Morkov.

The Manxman already confirmed his participation in the race in December, and the Colombian Cycling Federation has revealed the full lineup that will accompany Cavendish in the six-day event, which will be held February 6-11.

Cavendish can count on the support of Morkov, Ciesse Boll, and Davide Ballerini, who are expected to form the core of his sprint train at the Tour de France in July. The Astana Kazakstan six-man team will be completed by Alexey Lutsenko and home rider Harold Tejada.

This will be Morkov's first race since moving to Astana from Sudar Quickstep in the off-season; Ballerini, who spent one season with Astana in 2019, also rejoined the team from Quickstep this winter.

"I am part of the Cavendish group in the Tour and I can't wait for the race to start," Ballerini told BiciPro last month.

"Once we get to the training camp in Colombia and then start testing the train (in the race), you will see how we have been working."

Cavendish and his teammates will spend about a month in Colombia. According to the Colombian Cycling Federation, they will be based in Rio Negro, near Medellín, for a week after their arrival on January 15 and then move to the province of Boyaca before the race.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Cavendish will likely compete in the UAE Tour in late February, followed by the Tirreno-Adriatico in March.

Astana Kazakstan is one of three WorldTour teams to compete in the Tour Colombia, along with Movistar and EF Education-Easypost. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) will represent Colombia, along with the Bora-Hansgrohe duo of Sergio Iguita and Daniel Martinez.

After a three-year hiatus due to a coronavirus pandemic and funding problems, the Tour Colombia has returned to the calendar and will be held in the highlands of Boyaca and Cundinamarca departments.

The opening stage will be centered on Tunja and Duitama, the site of the 1995 World Championships, and will also visit Egan Bernal's hometown of Zipaquila. On the final day, the race will have a summit finish in Alto del Vino before the final stage to Bogotá.