Sir Mark Cavendish has been an active road and track cyclist for most of his life and, from modest beginnings in the Isle of Man, has gone on to become an exceptionally highly respected international sportsman.
Sir Mark is an exemplary British and Manx role model, a wonderful ambassador for the Isle of Man, and someone who gives generously of his time and money to support others.
Ambassador for the Isle of Man
In 2003, as a teenager, Sir Mark was selected to be a member of the British Cycling’s Olympic Academy. That same year, he won three gold medals in the Island Games in Guernsey, in the Criterium, the Men’s Team Trial and the Men’s Road Race.
In subsequent years, he has won the Madison UCI Track Cycling World Championship and a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games.
In 2011, he was awarded an MBE for his services to British Cycling.
He has represented Great Britain in the World Cycling Championships, in which he has won three gold medals in the Madison discipline, and a gold and a silver medal in the Road Race.
He also took Silver in the Omnium discipline at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Tour de France
However, Sir Mark is perhaps best known for his spectacular record in the Tour de France.
In this extraordinarily demanding road race, he has twice won the Green Jersey, awarded to the top sprinter.
In total, he has won 34 stage wins, sharing this incredible record with the legendary Eddy Merckx of Belgium. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest road sprinters of all time.
During his career, he has won over 160 races and in addition to being chosen as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2011, he has also been named as the Isle of Man’s Sportsman of the Year 12 times since 2003.
He is internationally known as the ‘The Manx Missile’.
Mark Cavendish Scholarships
In 2012, Sir Mark set up a series of Cavendish Scholarships to assist Manx Sports Aid recipients and also to help promising cyclists to attend British Cycling’s Regional Schools of Racing.
In addition, he is an ambassador for ‘Help for Heroes’, and in between his racing commitments, he finds time to return home to support local racing events, such as the ‘Grand Fondo’.
Being known worldwide, he is an amazing ambassador for the Isle of Man, and without question, he has inspired thousands of youngsters to take up the sport of cycling.
As a role model, Sir Mark is a very modest man, who is quick to give credit to his team members and supporters and who is always gracious in defeat.
As a racer, he is tenacious, determined and courageous. Over the years, he has had to cope with significant cycling injuries and battle a period of ill health, when he was diagnosed twice with Epstein Barr virus.
Despite these significant setbacks and having been written off by most of the cycling world, he made a spectacular comeback in the 2021 Tour de France.
Sir Mark Cavendish
With such a stellar international career behind him, and having achieved remarkable success at the highest level in his chosen sport, Sir Mark is, without doubt, the greatest sportsman the Isle of Man has ever produced.
Last month, Sir Mark achieved his 164th career win during the Tour of Hungary to become officially the greatest male sprinterof all time, moving past Mario Cipollini in the all-time win ranking.
He is an outstanding ambassador for the Island and an exemplary role model to many of its community, particularly young people.
For his outstanding contribution to the sport of cycling, his on-Island and off-Island charity work and as a sporting ambassador for the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man, His Majesty has made Sir Mark a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2024.
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