Sir Mark Simon CavendishKBE (born 21 May 1985) is aManx retired professional cyclist.[9] As atrack cyclist he specialised in themadison,points race, andscratch race disciplines; as a road racer he was asprinter. He is widely considered one of the greatest road sprinters of all time,[10][11] and in 2021 was called "the greatest sprinter in the history ofthe Tour and of cycling" byChristian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France.[12]
In his first years as an elite track rider, Cavendish won gold in the madison at the2005 and2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships riding for Great Britain, withRob Hayles andBradley Wiggins respectively, and in the scratch race at the2006 Commonwealth Games riding for Isle of Man. After failing to win a medal at the2008 Summer Olympics he did not compete on track again until 2015, subsequently winning his thirdUCI Track Cycling World Championships title with Wiggins in the madison in 2016, and an individual silver medal in theomnium at the2016 Summer Olympics.
As a road cyclist, Cavendish turned professional in 2005 and achieved eleven wins in his first professional season. From 2008 until 2024, Cavendish won 35 Tour de France stages, putting him first on theall-time list, contributing to athird-highest total of 55Grand Tour stage victories. He won themen's road race at the2011 Road World Championships, becoming the second male British rider to do so afterTom Simpson. Cavendish has also won the points classification in all three of the grand tours: the2010 Vuelta a España, the2011 and2021 Tour de France[13] and the2013 Giro d'Italia. In 2012, he became the first person to win the finalChamps-Élysées stage in the Tour de France in four consecutive years.
Cavendish won seven Grand Tour stages in 2013, one in 2015 and four in 2016. This included a win on stage one of the2016 Tour de France, claiming his first Tour de Franceyellow jersey. He crashed withPeter Sagan on stage four of the2017 Tour de France, forcing him out of the race. Cavendish continued producing good results until August 2018, when he was diagnosed withEpstein–Barr virus. Before his diagnosis, Cavendish was able to compete in the2018 Tour de France but was disqualified after not making the cut-off time on stage eleven. He returned to the Tour de France at the 2021 edition, winning four stages and his second points classification. In 2024, he claimed his 35th Tour stage win to break the overall stage victory record, previously shared withEddy Merckx.
In the2011 Queen's Birthday Honours, Cavendish was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for services to British Cycling." He also won the2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award with nearly half of the votes going to him out of a field of ten nominees. In June 2024, Cavendish was awarded aKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the2024 Birthday Honours for "services to cycling and charity work."[14][15] At the end of the year he was also awarded theBBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
Cavendish was born inDouglas, Isle of Man, the son of David, a native of the Isle, and Adele from Yorkshire, England.[16] He began ridingBMX at an early age, racing at theNational Sports Centre in Douglas.
He joined his local club in Douglas at the age of nine with his determination soon becoming apparent. "He didn't like losing", said Dot Tilbury, his former coach; "He started to win and often he would lap the other riders in the field".[17]
He said: "I was always riding a bike, getting dropped in little races."[18] "My mum would laugh at me, and I said it was because all my mates had mountain bikes, so I asked for amountain bike for my thirteenth birthday and got one. The very next day I went out and beat everyone."[18] It was at that time that Cavendish met British cyclistDavid Millar at a race on theIsle of Man, who was an inspiration to him. Cavendish worked in a bank for two years after leaving school to earn enough money for an attempt at a professional career.[19]
He gained a place as one of the first six riders selected forBritish Cycling's Olympic Academy for junior riders in 2003 having almost been rejected because of his relatively poor performance instationary bike tests. CoachesRod Ellingworth,John Herety andSimon Lillistone lobbied British Cycling Performance DirectorPeter Keen to include him because of his potential.[20] Although he initially struggled because of a lack of fitness, he recorded his first win in senior competition in March 2004; in the Girvan Three Day race he managed to latch back onto the lead group after being dropped over a climb before winning the finishing sprint ahead ofJulian Winn.[21] Whilst at the academy, he won two gold medals at the2003 Island Games.[22][23]
Cavendish progressed well at the academy. Ellingworth said, "Cav kind of liked it" when asked about the rigid rules and "dictatorship style" of the academy. The junior riders lived on £58 a week and financial management became a part of life at the academy as well as cooking and cleaning.[24][21]Cycling Weekly described the academy as "a boot camp style training regime"[21] controlled by Ellingworth, who, after finding out they had skipped a three-hour training ride, made the juniors complete four hours hard training at night.[25]
He won gold in themadison withRob Hayles at the2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles. They had not raced together before as Hayles' usual partner,Geraint Thomas, had crashed during training a few weeks earlier[21]—but finished one lap ahead of the field to claim the gold medal, followed by theDutch andBelgian teams, Cavendish's first world title.[26] Cavendish also won the points race at theUEC European Track Championships.[27]
Cavendish turned professional in 2005 with Team Sparkasse, a feeder squad for theT-Mobile Team.[28][29] During this time, he rode theTour de Berlin and theTour of Britain. He remained with the team into 2006, winning two stages and the points and sprint competitions in June's Tour de Berlin. He rode for theIsle of Man on the track at theCommonwealth Games in Melbourne, riding thescratch race. He lapped the field with three others: England's Rob Hayles; Ashley Hutchinson of Australia; andJames McCallum of Scotland. Hayles then led him out for the sprint to win gold for the Isle of Man.[30][31]
His success at the 2006Tour de Berlin led to him being astagiaire with the T-Mobile Team from August until the end of the season.[32] His best result on the road was in theTour of Britain where he came second twice and third once, and won the points classification.[33] He signed an initial two-year contract to join the team full-time from the 2007 season.[34]
His breakthrough came at the2007 Scheldeprijs race in Belgium, which he won.[35] He went on to win stages at theFour Days of Dunkirk[36][37] and theVolta a Catalunya leading to his selection for theTour de France. He crashed on stages one and two and abandoned the race on stage eight as it reached the Alps. Although he had taken two top-ten placings he was unhappy not to have had a top-five placing.[38] Cavendish took his eleventh win in early October at the Circuit Franco-Belge.[39] Among the wins were three inUCI ProTour events—two in the Volta a Catalunya and one in theEneco Tour.
In 2008, Cavendish returned to the track for theUCI Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester. Cavendish was brought in to partnerBradley Wiggins in the madison, as Hayles failed a routine blood test, and was subsequently banned.[40] At around halfway through the race they appeared to be out of contention, with their closest rivals all gaining a lap. With thirty-five laps left to race, Wiggins launched an attack which helped them reach the field ten laps later. They took the lead due to the superior points they had collected in the sprints. They held on to win the gold medal, finishing with nineteen points, ahead of Germany on thirteen.[41]
On the road, Cavendish won his first stages of aGrand Tour with two victories in theGiro d'Italia and four stages in theTour de France, the first of which was on stage five.[42] He won also stages eight, twelve and thirteen.[43] After stage fourteen, Cavendish abandoned the Tour to concentrate on theOlympics in Beijing.[44] He paired with Wiggins in the madison, and as the reigning world champions, they were favourites for the gold medal but finished ninth.[45] Cavendish felt Wiggins had not performed to the best of his ability in the madison.[46][47] The rest of his season was successful, with a total of eleven further race wins, including three each at theTour of Ireland and theTour of Missouri where he won his only points classification of the season.[48] At theTour de Romandie, he won the openingtime trial, beating compatriot Wiggins and emphasising his short-distance time-trial abilities.[49]
Cavendish's 2009 season began at theTour of Qatar, where he renewed his rivalry withQuick-Step'sTom Boonen.[50] Boonen won the race and one stage, though Cavendish took two stages. He also won two stages at theTour of California, again beating Boonen in the sprint finishes.[51] The Tour of California also saw him win his first points of classification of the 2009 season.[52] He was a surprise inclusion on the British squad for the2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, where he competed in thescratch race and themadison, failing to pick up medals in either.[53] He took up the European season atTirreno–Adriatico, the Italian one-week stage race, winning one stage.[54] He then entered his first classic race,Milan–San Remo, where he tracked downCervélo TestTeam riderHeinrich Haussler in the last 200 metres (220 yd) narrowly winning the sprint and the race—Cavendish's first victory in a race known as one of the fivecycling monuments.[55]
Cavendish repeated his 2008 two-stage victory at theThree Days of De Panne, also winning the points classification.[56] At the start of theGiro d'Italia Team Columbia–High Road won the team time trial and Cavendish was given thepink leader's jersey, becoming the first Manx rider to wear it.[57] The first two road stages were fruitless for Cavendish, as he was beaten to the line byAlessandro Petacchi in the first stage, before he was caught behind a crash and failed to make it back for the sprint the next day. After this, Cavendish took three stage wins before abandoning it after stage thirteen, citing a need to rest in preparation for theTour de France.[58][59][60] He continued his preparation by racing theTour de Suisse where he won stages three and six.[43]
During the season, Cavendish developed a partnership with hislead out man,Mark Renshaw. Continuing his run of success, he won stages two, three, ten, eleven, nineteen and twenty-one of the Tour de France.[43] In winning the third stage, he became the first Briton to hold the green jersey two days in a row.[61] Cavendish's stage eleven win enabled him to reclaim the green jersey from rivalThor Hushovd of Cervélo TestTeam. It also equalledBarry Hoban's British record of eight stage wins.[62] Winning stage nineteen, Cavendish set a new record for Tour de France stage wins by a British rider.[63] In winning the last stage, he led home a one–two for his team, as his teammate and lead out man, Renshaw, finished second on theChamps-Élysées.[64]
Following on from the Tour de France, Cavendish won theSparkassen Giro Bochum and took part in theTour of Ireland, winning stage two.[65] In September he recorded the fiftieth win of his road racing career in a sprint finish in the opening stage of theTour of Missouri.[66] Before the race he confirmed he would remain with Team Columbia–HTC in 2010, ending speculation that he was moving to the newly created British team,Team Sky.[66] Cavendish retained the leader's jersey by sprinting to victory in stage two but finished fifth in stage three, losing the overall lead to Hushovd. A lung infection forced him to withdraw from the race before stage four.[67] Although selected for the British team for theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships, his illness prevented him from taking part.[68]
After a dental problem, Cavendish delayed the start of his 2010 season until theVuelta a Andalucía in mid-February.[69][70] Following the lay off, he failed to defend his victory atMilan–San Remo, coming in six minutes behind the winner in eighty-ninth place.[71][72] His pre-season goals were to win the green jersey in the Tour de France and win theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships.[73][74] Cavendish raced in theTour of Flanders for the first time but only to work for a teammate and gain experience. He was involved in a crash and did not finish.[75] He found form at theVolta a Catalunya, finishing seventh in the time-trial and winning stage two.[76] His team withdrew Cavendish from theTour de Romandie for making an offensive gesture after winning the second stage.[77] Missing theGiro d'Italia, he chose instead to compete at theTour of California starting in May, where he won stage one for his third victory of the season.[78] In June, Cavendish crashed heavily whilst sprinting in the closing metres of stage four of theTour de Suisse. He appeared to veer off line and brought down Haussler and several other riders, raising criticism from other teams regarding his riding style.[79]
Cavendish entered theTour de France. During stage one, he crashed out of the final sprint, with just under 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) remaining in the stage. Overhead camera footage showed him failing to negotiate a corner after entering too fast and turning too late. He then leaned his shoulder into a fellow rider as he travelled away from the racing line.[80][81][82] Cavendish returned to form by winning stages five, six, eleven, eighteen and twenty,[43] bringing his career total to fifteen Tour de France stage wins.[83] He ended up second in thepoints classification, eleven points behind Petacchi.[84] Cavendish's next race was theVuelta a España. His team won the team time trial with Cavendish finishing first, taking the leader's jersey.[85] He could place only second or third in the subsequent sprint stages but in the second half of the race, he won stages twelve, thirteen, eighteen and ultimately won the points classification.[43][86]
Cavendish had a slow start to 2011 failing to win a race until late February when he won stage six of theTour of Oman.[87] His second victory of the season came in theScheldeprijs, with his third win in the race matching the record ofPetrus Oellibrandt, following his wins in 2007 and 2008.[88] Having failed to finish atParis–Roubaix,[89] Cavendish came second in the second stage of theGiro d'Italia to take the pink jersey in contentious circumstances, gesturing at stage winner Petacchi for appearing to move across his path in the final sprint.[90] Cavendish got his first Grand Tour stage victory of the year by winning stage ten of the Giro d'Italia, denying claims that he had illegally held on to his team car when climbingMount Etna on stage nine.[91] He also won stage twelve prior to leaving the race.[92] In June, it was announced that Cavendish was appointed aMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2011 Birthday Honours.[93][94] He won stages five, seven, eleven, fifteen and twenty-one of theTour de France—bringing his total to twenty career Tour de France stage wins.[43][95][96] He also became the first person to win the final stage three years in succession. Despite being docked twenty points each time for finishing outside the time limit after stages nine and eighteen,[97][98] Cavendish ultimately became the first British rider to win thepoints classification.[99][100]
Over the following weeks, Cavendish took part in the post-Tourcriteriums. He won the Stiphout Criterium in The Netherlands, beating brothersAndy andFränk Schleck ofLeopard Trek to the line.[101] He then won the Profcriterium Wolvertem-Meise,[102] followed by the Wateringse Wielerdag.[103] In August, Cavendish's team HTC–Highroad announced they would fold at the end of the season,[104] fuelling speculation that Cavendish would move to Team Sky.[105] The following week, racing for team Great Britain, he won theLondon–Surrey Cycle Classic, the official test event for theroad race at the2012 Summer Olympics and part of theLondon Prepares series.[106] Less than a week later, Cavendish started theVuelta a España, but abandoned it during stage four due to the searing heat.[107] After withdrawing from the Vuelta a España, Cavendish was allowed to be a late addition to the line up of theTour of Britain.[108] Cavendish won stage one in Dumfries to take the leader's jersey,[109] and the final stage in London.[110]
At the end of September, Cavendish went to theUCI Road World Championships in Copenhagen as part of an eight-rider British team for theroad race. After the team controlled the whole race it came down to a sprint finish with Cavendish crossing the line in first place taking therainbow jersey, to become the second British male UCI world champion afterTom Simpson in1965.[111][112] In November, Cavendish returned to the track, competing in theRevolution event atManchester Velodrome. He won the scratch race, his first track win since 2008.[113] He announced he was starting his training for the 2012 season earlier than in previous years, with the aim of being more competitive in the Classics.[114] In November, he won the 2011 Most Inspirational Sportsman of the Year Award at the Jaguar Academy of Sport Annual Awards.[115] In December, Cavendish won theBBC Sports Personality of the Year Award with approximately half of the votes cast, ahead ofMo Farah andDarren Clarke.[116]
Amid much speculation, it was announced in October 2011 that Cavendish would join Team Sky for the 2012 season along with HTC–Highroad teammateBernhard Eisel.[117][118] Cavendish began his 2012 season at theTour of Qatar. After recovering from illness, he won stage three—his first victory for Team Sky.[119] He won stage five later in the week, moving back into the top ten of the overall classification.[120] He finished the race in sixth place, despite crashing on the final stage.[121] Although he did not win any stages at theTour of Oman, having suffered an injury in the first stage, he returned to winKuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.[122] Cavendish targeted a second victory inMilan–San Remo in March, but was dropped onLe Manie, 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the finish.[123] He did not manage to finish high up in the remaining Classics. In theTour de Romandie, he showed his ability in short time trials by finishing third in the prologue but did not take any stage wins.[124]
A week later, Cavendish took his fifth win of the season by winning the sprint on stage two of theGiro d'Italia. The following day, he was again in contention for victory on stage three, but in the sprint,Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela'sRoberto Ferrari aggressively switched lanes, clipping Cavendish and sending him to the ground, causing other riders to fall including overall leaderTaylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team). Cavendish later tweeted that Ferrari should be "ashamed to take out Pink,Red & World Champ jerseys".[125] He recovered from minor injuries to win stages five and thirteen.[126][127] Cavendish completed the Giro d'Italia, but lost the points classification toTeam Katusha'sJoaquim Rodríguez by a single point. He did win the minorAzzurri d'Italia and stage combativeness classifications.[128] In mid-June, Cavendish competed in theSter ZLM Toer and despite failing to win any of the four mostly flat stages, Cavendish's consistency ensured that he won the overall general classification—the first of his professional career—by eight seconds.[129]
In July, Cavendish won stage two of theTour de France, his twenty-first tour stage win.[130] Cavendish was in contention for another stage victory on stage four, but was taken out in a large crash in the final 3 kilometres (1.9 miles).[131] He then took on a supporting role as Team Sky attempted to win the overall race with Wiggins. He was seen carrying bottles for teammates and setting the pace on aPyrenean climb.[132] The team repaid Cavendish for his hard work by helping chase down a breakaway on stage eighteen, although Cavendish alone had to chase downRabobank riderLuis León Sánchez andNicolas Roche ofAg2r–La Mondiale in the last 200 metres (220 yd) to take his 22nd Tour stage win, equallingAndré Darrigade.[133] Cavendish won the final stage of the Tour de France on the Champs-Élysées for a record fourth successive year—the most successful sprinter in Tour history with twenty-three stage wins.[134] He also became the first person to win on the Champs-Élysées in the rainbow jersey. During the Tour, French newspaperL'Équipe named Cavendish the Tour de France's best sprinter of all time.[135][136]
Cavendish's main target for the season wasthe road race at the Olympics, which was held six days after the final stage of the Tour de France. A strong British squad of Wiggins,Chris Froome,Ian Stannard and Millar was assembled around Cavendish. The team aimed to control the race and allow him to take a sprint victory onThe Mall. The team were forced to set the pace for the majority of the race, with few nations offering any support, and on the final climb of theBox Hill circuit, a large breakaway group of over thirty riders formed. Despite the best efforts of Stannard, Wiggins, Millar, Froome and Eisel, the breakaway could not be brought back leaving Cavendish to finish twenty-ninth, forty seconds behind the winner,Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan.[137][138][139] He then won three stages of theTour of Britain, winning in Dumfries, Blackpool and Guildford.[140]
In October 2012, he signed a three-year contract with Belgian team Omega Pharma–Quick-Step from the 2013 season.[141]
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He started the 2013 season by winning the opening stage of theTour de San Luis in Argentina on his début for Omega Pharma–Quick-Step.[142] He then went on to win theTour of Qatar, with four consecutive stage victories out of six.[143] In March, he won the second stage of theThree Days of De Panne.[144] In April he finished in second place to defending championMarcel Kittel ofArgos–Shimano at theScheldeprijs; he faded in the final kilometre, but recovered to launch his sprint from around twenty riders back with 200 metres (220 yd) remaining.[145] In May, Cavendish won the opening stage of theGiro d'Italia, taking the pink jersey for the third time in his career.[146] He went on to win stage six from abunch sprint after a pan-flat stage. This victory moved him aboveRobert Millar to the top ofCycling Weekly's all-time ranking of British professional riders.[147] He also won stage twelve, claiming his 100th professional victory and reclaiming the lead in the points classification.[148] The next day, he timed his finish perfectly to win stage thirteen, his fourth victory of the 2013 race.[149] His fifth victory of the Giro came on the final stage, wrapping up the points classification which he had led for much of the race. By doing so, Cavendish became only the fifth rider to win the points classification in all three Grand Tours.[150]
In June, Cavendish won theBritish National Road Race Championships, held around a circuit in Glasgow city centre. He overtook David Millar on the home straight and held off a challenge by Ian Stannard, who recovered from a puncture in the penultimate lap to claim silver.[151] In July, he won stage five of theTour de France, giving him twenty-four career Tour stage wins. He was greeted on the line by André Darrigade, the previous record holder for most Tour stages won by a sprinter.[152] In the eleventh stage, a 33-kilometre (21-mile) individual time trial, a spectator doused Cavendish with urine.[153][154] On stage 13 from Tours toSaint-Amand-Montrond, he rode with a 14-man breakaway with 30 kilometres (19 miles) to go and out-sprintedPeter Sagan to win the stage—his 25th Tour de France stage win.[155] Later that month Cavendish decided to ride theDanmark Rundt, winning the race's final stage.[156] In September, he returned to the track for the first time since the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing, competing in theInternational Belgian Open inGhent. Finishing second in the scratch race and third in the madison with Owain Doull, Cavendish had not ruled out the prospect of competing in the2016 Summer Olympics inRio de Janeiro having earned enough points to qualify for theUCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics.[157] Returning to the road, Cavendish won stage four of theTour of Britain, outsprintingElia Viviani inLlanberis. He repeated the win three days later, again out-sprinting Viviani to take stage seven inGuildford. He also won the final stage in London the next day.[158]
Despite stage wins at the start of the 2014 season at theVolta ao Algarve andTirreno–Adriatico,[159][160] Cavendish decided not to compete in theGiro d'Italia.[161] His bestClassics result was a fifth place inMilan–San Remo, having been a favourite for the race.[160] He won four stages and thepoints classification at theTour of Turkey.[162] In the first stage of theTour de France, which started inYorkshire, England, fromLeeds toHarrogate, Cavendish crashed out during a collision he caused in the final few seconds of the sprint finish. He suffered aseparated right shoulder and did not start the next stage.[163][164] He came back to competition at theTour de l'Ain, where he was winless.[165] He then showed some form at theTour du Poitou-Charentes, winning the first two stages.[166] Cavendish competed in theTour of Britain in September, coming third in the first stage inLiverpool and second in the final stage in London. Overall, his 2014 season proved to be one of his least successful,[167] winning eleven races but gaining no Grand Tour stage wins.[168] Cavendish ended 2014 competing on the track, taking second place at theSix Days of Ghent[169] and winning the Six Days of Zurich,[170] both withIljo Keisse. He later ruled out an attempt to enter the track cycling competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics due to his road commitments.[168]
In contrast to 2014, he had a successful start to the 2015 season. He won five races by mid-February, including two stages, the points classification and the general classification at theDubai Tour.[171][172] In March, Cavendish wonKuurne–Brussels–Kuurne, for the second time in his career.[173] He then participated inTirreno–Adriatico, where he was involved in a large crash on stage two due to Elia Viviani clipping his back wheel and causing his chain to drop.[174] Cavendish next raced at theTour of Turkey, where he won three stages and the points classification ahead ofDaniele Ratto.[175] Cavendish then participated in theTour of California, showing good form by winning four stages and the points classification ahead of overall winner Sagan.[176] HisTour de Suisse was unsuccessful; the best place he managed was sixth on stage six.[177] At theTour de France, Cavendish won stage seven by takingAndré Greipel's wheel before passing him in a sprint finish inFougères,[178] his first stage win at the race since 2013 and twenty-sixth overall.[179] Cavendish returned to the track in August, winning the madison with Bradley Wiggins in the first round of the Revolution cycling series at the newly openedDerby Arena.[180] It was the first time the pair had contested the madison together since the 2008 Olympics.
In September 2015, it was announced that Cavendish had signed forMTN–Qhubeka – to be renamed as Team Dimension Data – for the 2016 season, along with his Etixx–Quick-Step teammate Renshaw and Eisel, his former teammate from HTC–Highroad and Sky. The team principal,Douglas Ryder, described the move as "a big step forward for the team."[181]
In February, Cavendish rode theTour of Qatar, taking the opening stage and the general classification for the second time.[182][183] Cavendish wanted to win a medal at the Olympics in theomnium.[184] In preparation he competed at theUCI Track Cycling World Championships; he placed sixth in theomnium,[185] and won themadison with Bradley Wiggins.[186] In April he rode theTour of Croatia, winning stage two.[187] On 2 July, he won the opening stage of theTour de France in a sprint finish atUtah Beach, taking his twenty-seventh stage win, and donning theyellow jersey for the first time.[188] He lost the jersey the following day when Sagan won stage two.[189] Cavendish won stage 3 in aphoto finish with André Greipel inAngers, equallingBernard Hinault's tally of 28 stage wins and put him in the lead of points classification.[190][191] He won stage six in a bunch sprint atMontauban, ahead of Marcel Kittel andDaniel McLay, to increase his lead.[192] Cavendish lost the green jersey on the tenth stage, when Sagan was part of a breakaway that led the race until the end – while also finishing second toMichael Matthews at the finish line inRevel and won the stage's intermediate sprint.[193] Cavendish went on to take his fourth stage of the race, and his thirtieth Tour de France stage victory on stage fourteen, passingAlexander Kristoff and Sagan at the finish atParc des Oiseaux inVillars-les-Dombes.[194] He quit the race on the second rest day before the mountainous stages citing his need to prepare for the Olympics.[195]
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Having competed in two previous Olympics, Cavendish finally won his first medal, finishing second in the men'somnium.[196] Returning to the roads, Cavendish was seen to be one of the favourites for theroad race at theUCI Road World Championships in Qatar,[197] but was out-sprinted for the victory by Sagan and finished with the silver medal, a result that left him "disappointed".[198] He concluded his road season with two stage wins and the points classification at theAbu Dhabi Tour,[199] after which he returned to track racing, teaming up with Bradley Wiggins to race theSix Days of London. The pair narrowly lost toKenny De Ketele andMoreno De Pauw in the final moments of the sixth day, finishing in second position overall.[200] The pair went on to race at the Six Days of Ghent, this time beating De Ketele and De Pauw to take the overall victory.[201]
After not winning any stages in his opening race, theDubai Tour,[202] he won the opening stage of the third event of theUCI World Tour, theAbu Dhabi Tour.[203] In April, he was diagnosed withEpstein–Barr virus, preventing him from racing until mid-June.[204] In a 2021 interview, Cavendish stated that his health was compromised by being told by doctors that he was fit to train again when Epstein–Barr was still in his system, leading to him reducing his intake of food to make his racing weight and eventually to a deterioration in his mental health andclinical depression.[205]
Cavendish was back to form by theTour de France, where he was involved in an incident with reigning World Champion Peter Sagan during the finish of stage four which resulted in Cavendish crashing into the barriers. He suffered a fractured shoulder blade, after landing on his right shoulder which he had dislocated three years earlier and withdrew from the race.[206][207] Sagan was later disqualified as it appeared he had struck Cavendish with an elbow. In response, Cavendish said he was friendly with Sagan but he was not "a fan of him putting his elbow in".[207] Rob Hayles, a former professional cyclist, said Cavendish was already heading into the barriers before Sagan put his elbow out. He also claimed no contact occurred between the two cyclists.[208] Others shared Hayles' opinion, stating it was more Cavendish's fault for attempting to squeeze through a small gap than Sagan's. Race officials said Sagan "endangered some of his colleagues seriously" in the sprint.[209][210] After a low-key return to the roads at September'sTour of Britain, Cavendish rode in theSix Days of London,[211] finishing second overall withPeter Kennaugh.[212][213]
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Cavendish began his 2018 season at theDubai Tour, winning stage three. He then raced theTour of Oman, placing second on the opening stage.[214] He then went on to start theAbu Dhabi Tour, only to crash in the neutralised zone of the first stage. He fell on the shoulder he fractured at the previous year's Tour de France and was forced to abandon the race.[215] He returned to action atTirreno–Adriatico, but suffered another crash during the openingteam time trial. He fractured a rib, and despite getting back on his bike missed the time cut, and was unable to continue in the race.[216] Cavendish was fit to startMilan–San Remo, but crashed heavily into a bollard in the final 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) as thepeloton approached the crucialPoggio di San Remo climb. He suffered another fractured rib, bruising and abrasions, as well as a possible ankle ligament injury.[217] He rode theTour de France, but finished outside of the time limit on stage 11 by more than 34 minutes.[218] Cavendish was due to start the road race at theEuropean Road Championships in Glasgow, but pulled out on the advice of his medical team, due to a number of injuries earlier in the season. Cavendish said that it was "incredibly disappointing".[219][220]
Cavendish returned to racing at theVuelta a San Juan in Argentina, having not raced since August 2018. He finished eighth on the opening stage and later said it was "nice to be back in the peloton".[221] He was not selected for theTour de France because of strained relations with Team Dimension Data principal and ownerDouglas Ryder[222] and other health issues since 2017. In response, Cavendish said he was "absolutely heart-broken" to be missing a race in which he had competed each year since 2007.[223][224] Ryder said it "was multiple people who made that decision" and that "there was a whole team involved", but this was disputed by team performance directorRolf Aldag, who said the decision was made by Ryder alone. Aldag had made his intentions clear of selecting Cavendish for the race, but later accepted it was ultimately the team owner's decision of who would be on the team.[225] Aldag announced his departure from the team at the end of the season in a statement in early September.[226]
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Cavendish crashed on the opening stage of theTour de Pologne after a touch of wheels around a slow and sharp corner at roughly 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) from the finish; he finished in last place.[227][228] He finished sixth on stage three, then abandoned the race on stage six to focus on theEuropean Road Championships,[227][229] where he finished 31st.[230] He was selected by Team Dimension Data to lead the team at theDeutschland Tour[231] and to ride in theTour of Britain.[232] He ultimately finished the season without a win on the road, with his best result being a third-place stage finish at thePresidential Tour of Turkey in April.[233]
In late October 2019, Cavendish signed withBahrain–McLaren for the 2020 season alongsideMikel Landa,Wout Poels, andDylan Teuns.[234] The announcement was followed by success in the 2019Six Days of London where Cavendish, along withOwain Doull, finished second to Elia Viviani and Simone Consonni.[235][236] At the beginning of 2020 Cavendish had his hopes of competing in themadison at the Tokyo Olympics dashed when he was not selected in the British squads for the final round of theUCI Track Cycling World Cup inMilton, Ontario, Canada, or theUCI Track Cycling World Championships in Berlin, rendering him ineligible to be selected for the Games.[237][238] He made his debut for Bahrain–McLaren at theTour of Saudi Arabia in February, where he helped teammatePhil Bauhaus to two stage wins and the overall win, after Cavendish crashed twice on the second stage of the race.[239]
During the season he alternated between riding as a sprinter and as a lead out man for teammates, but his racing programme was disrupted by theCOVID-19 pandemic. After he was not selected for the delayedTour de France, he said he felt he was not ready for it, due to a lack of racing and the race's particularly tough mountainous route; he backed teammate Landa's bid for the yellow jersey.[240] He rode in the delayedcobbled classics in the autumn, making a number of early breakaways.[241] AtGent–Wevelgem he stated in an interview withSporza that the race might be his last.[242] He subsequently clarified that the comment related to rumours about subsequent Flemish classic races being cancelled, which turned out not to be the case: after riding inScheldeprijs, theTour of Flanders and theThree Days of Bruges–De Panne he declared in an interview withHet Nieuwsblad that he had had "(his) best racing month for a long time" and indicated that he wanted to continue racing "for a few more seasons".[241]
Following reports that he was due to retire due to difficulty in securing a World Tour contract,[242] in December 2020, Cavendish announced his return toDeceuninck–Quick-Step for the2021 season.[243] His contract was for theUCI WorldTeam minimum salary of €40,000, and he had to bring his own sponsor to the team.[205]
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Having recorded his first podium finish since 2019 with a second-place finish toTim Merlier at theGrote Prijs Jean-Pierre Monseré,[233] Cavendish took his first four professional victories since 2018 in April, winning stages 2, 3, 4 and 8 of theTour of Turkey.[244] In June he took another win in the fifth and final stage of theTour of Belgium, triumphing over a field which included such names asCaleb Ewan, Merlier,Pascal Ackermann,Dylan Groenewegen andNacer Bouhanni.[245] Cavendish's teammate,Sam Bennett had an increasingly strained relationship with the team's management,[246] and when Bennett was ruled out of theTour de France following a training injury, Cavendish was drafted in as the team's lead sprinter.[247] He won stages four, six, ten and thirteen of the Tour, bringing his total of Tour de France stage victories to 34, making him the joint record holder for Tour stage wins along withEddy Merckx.[248] On the race's final stage to theChamps-Élysées, Cavendish missed out on the win, finishing third behindWout van Aert andJasper Philipsen. He won the points classification for the second time in his career, ten years after his first win in2011.[249] Cavendish was backed by the "strongest sprint train in the race"[250] withMichael Mørkøv as his lead out man.[251]
Cavendish's 2021 season was abruptly ended by a crash in the final Madison session of theSix Days of Ghent track event. Cavendish was closely following world Madison championLasse Norman Hansen, behindGerben Thijssen andKenny De Ketele when Thijssen slipped on a damp patch on the track sending De Ketele up the banking to sweep away Hansen's front wheel, bringing down both Hansen and Cavendish. Cavendish was taken to the intensive care unit ofGhent University Hospital suffering from broken ribs and a punctured lung.[252] In December, Cavendish extended his contract at Deceuninck–Quick-Step for another year.[253]
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Cavendish opened his season in the Middle East with the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team at theTour of Oman.[254] He finished second toFernando Gaviria on the opening stage,[255] but the following day he won the sprint for stage 2, taking the lead in both the general and points classifications.[256] He finished the six-day event in fourth place in the points classification following a points deduction after stage 5,[257] and being blocked byMaximiliano Richeze in the sprint for stage 6.[258] Later in February, Cavendish won stage 2 of theUAE Tour.[259] In March, Cavendish became the first British cyclist to win the Italian classicMilano–Torino. After racing at an average speed of 44 kilometres per hour (27 miles per hour) over a new 199-kilometre (124-mile) course fromMagenta toRivoli, Cavendish out-sprintedNacer Bouhanni andAlexander Kristoff to take his first victory in Italy since a stage win at the2014 Tirreno–Adriatico.[260]
In May, Cavendish contested theGiro d'Italia for the first time since2013,[261] and he won the third stage of the race in Hungary, his 16th Giro stage win.[262] This win gave him 53 career Grand Tour stage wins, bringing him within 4 ofMario Cipollini and 11 ofEddy Merckx forthe most Grand Tour stage wins of all-time. He took two further podium finishes during the race, and ultimately finished third in thepoints classification, behindArnaud Démare and Gaviria.[263] The following month, Cavendish won his secondBritish National Road Race Championships title inCastle Douglas,[264] nine years after he won his first title inGlasgow. In July, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team general managerPatrick Lefevere advised that Cavendish's contract would not be extended beyond the end of the season,[265] and his final race with the team was a second-place finish toTim Merlier in theMemorial Rik Van Steenbergen.[266]
Having reportedly signed a contract with theB&B Hotels–KTM team prior to its disbanding,[267] Cavendish started 2023 as a free agent. In mid-January, he signed a contract with theAstana Qazaqstan Team.[268] He made his first starts with the team in the Middle East, in Oman at theMuscat Classic and theTour of Oman,[269] before moving onto the United Arab Emirates with a start at theUAE Tour, where he was part of a late-race break on the opening stage.[270] During theGiro d'Italia, Cavendish announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2023 racing season.[271] A week later, Cavendish out-sprinted his rivals to take the 21st and final stage of the Giro d'Italia in Rome, taking his tally of stage wins at the race to 17.[272] He sought to become the record holder for stage wins at theTour de France, but his best result was second toJasper Philipsen onstage 7.[273] He abandoned the race the following day, after a fall duringstage 8.[274] In October of that year, he announced he had reconsidered his decision to retire, and would stay with Astana Qazaqstan Team for the 2024 season, in the hope of breaking the Tour de France stage win record.[275]
Cavendish started the 2024 season at theTour Colombia, where he won the fourth stage of the race, ahead of his former teammateFernando Gaviria.[276] He also won the second stage of theTour de Hongrie,[277] and featured as part of a breakaway on the final stage of the race. While racing at theTour de Suisse, it was announced that Cavendish was to beknighted in the2024 Birthday Honours.[278] At the Tour de France, and having been caught behind a crash during the sprint onstage 3, Cavendish's next opportunity was onstage 5, finishing inSaint-Vulbas. Moving between the wheels in the sprint, Cavendish launched his sprint from behindPascal Ackermann, and was able to fend off Philipsen for his record 35th Tour de France stage win.[279][280] The following day, it was reported that Cavendish had received a warning from race officials for deviating from his sprinting line during the sprint.[281] It was his only stage win during the race; he would later be penalised and fined for drafting duringstage 6,[282] relegated onstage 12 for deviating during the final sprint,[283] and ultimately ended the race as thelanterne rouge, finishing last in thegeneral classification.[284] Having received his knighthood atWindsor Castle fromWilliam, Prince of Wales in October,[285][286] Cavendish won the Tour de France Singapore Criterium in his final cycling start,[287] retiring with 165 professional victories.[288] He was not nominated for theBBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, but instead received theBBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.[289][290]
Cavendish has an aggressive riding style that has been compared to asprinter pushing on the starting blocks.[291] At the 2009 Tour de France, the points he gained in the intermediate sprint instage fourteen were removed after he was judged to have driven Thor Hushovd too close to barriers on the course.[292] Afterstage nineteen, he said he was "embarrassed" for his comments about "deserving" green jersey wearer Hushovd.[63] After stage four of the 2010 Tour de Suisse, Cavendish was found to be at fault for a crash involving himself andHeinrich Haussler during the end of the sprint stage.[293] The crash caused Haussler,Arnaud Coyot andLloyd Mondory to quit the race because of their injuries, though Cavendish was able to continue.[294] Cavendish received a thirty-second penalty and aCHF200 fine. The start of the next stage was disrupted by fellow riders protesting Cavendish's riding and style, and what they said was a lack of respect from him.[294]
His riding style resulted in organisers of the 2013 Boxmeer Criterium in the Netherlands to announce he was not welcome due to an incident during stage ten of the 2013 Tour de France, when he bumped Dutch riderTom Veelers in a sprint finish, sending the Argos-Shimano rider tumbling.[295] Another instance of dubious safety concerns while riding was witnessed on the opening stage of the 2014 Tour de France as Cavendish causedSimon Gerrans to crash while trying to push him out of the way during the sprint.[163] In 2016, Cavendish accepted responsibility and apologised for the crash of South Korean cyclistPark Sang-hoon at the men'somnium event at the Olympics when an incident between them led to Park being thrown from his bike.[296] After the crash, Park appeared unconscious and did not move while paramedics administered first aid; he was eventually taken away on a stretcher.[297]
Cavendish has been described as confident, even arrogant.[298][299] In 2008 he said: "When journalists at the Tour de France ask me if I am the best sprinter, I answer 'Yes', and that's seen as arrogance, but if they don't ask me, I don't say I'm the best sprinter in the world."[291] He has aneidetic memory for the details of race routes. In a 2013 interview withJonathan Liew, he said: "If I do a circuit then after three laps I could tell you where all the potholes were." As a test, Liew asked him to recount the close of his win in San Remo five years earlier. It took him five minutes to recite every detail of the last 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). This is an obvious asset to Cavendish in planning and timing his races.[300]
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On 5 October 2013, Cavendish married modelPeta Todd in London, making him stepfather to her son from a previous relationship.[301] Cavendish and Todd have four children together.[302][303][304] He has three homes: one on the Isle of Man, which he said will always be his real home; one in Ongar, Essex; and a training base inQuarrata,Tuscany, Italy.[305][306] The Cavendish family were robbed at knifepoint in their home in Essex in November 2021,[307][308] and two men were jailed atChelmsford Crown Court in February 2023 for their involvement in the robbery.[309]
In January 2015 Cavendish announced the creation of the Rise Above Sportive, acyclosportive to be held in Chester and North Wales in August 2015.[310] In November 2015, he was awarded anhonorary doctorate in science by theUniversity of Chester for his contribution to cycling.[311] He was diagnosed withEpstein–Barr virus in April 2017 and spent months out of action before returning to race the 2017 Tour de France.[312] In August 2018 he was diagnosed with the virus a second time and withdrew from training and racing to recuperate.[313]
In June 2009, his autobiographyBoy Racer, which covered his career up to that year, was published byEbury Press.[16][314] At a press conference in London ahead of the 2009 Tour de France, Cavendish explained the book was "more a biography of last year's Tour stage wins" than an autobiography.[315] His "biggest motivation for writing it had been to explain himself better", to counter the way he came across during interviews immediately after races.[315] In an interview withCyclingnews.com, Cavendish said the book would "cause some controversy" before stating it is positive in respect to others.[314] The book addresses many events including an offer of more money from elsewhere to leave Team Columbia–High Road in 2008, which Cavendish declined; relationships with teams and riders; and significant moments for him of some races.[316][317] Each chapter describes a stage from the 2008 Tour de France stages one to fourteen, using other autobiographical moments from Cavendish's life.[16] In November 2013 his second bookAt Speed was also published by Ebury. Following on fromBoy Racer it covered the part of his career from 2010 to 2013.[318] In November 2021, Ebury Press publishedTour de Force: My history-making Tour de France, which detailed Cavendish's return to success at the 2021 Tour.[205]
In December 2024, theIsle of Man Post Office published a collection of stamps honouring Cavendish.[319] The collection, released as a sheetlet, was an amalgamation of three previous stamp issues featuring the cyclist, showcasing images capturing key moments throughout the years. They included representing theIsle of Man at theCommonwealth Games, being part ofGreat Britain's Olympic team, and competing in theTour de France. The collection also featured details about his career and famous victories.[320]
Nicknamed the 'Manx Missile',
Cavendish has 165 individual victories on his palmarès [...]
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