21 things you didn't know about Mark Cavendish
From working in a bank to breaking records on the Champs-Élysées

Date of Birth | 21/05/1985 |
Nationality | English |
Born | Douglas, Isle of Man |
Nickname | Cav / The Manx Missile |
Height | 1.75 metres |
Weight | 70 kg |
Resides | Essex |
Partner | Peta Cavendish |
Turned pro | 2005 |
Team | Astana Qazaqstan |
Bike | Wilier Filante SLR |
UCI wins | 123 |
Stage race wins | 0 |
Grand Tour stage wins | 53 |
@MarkCavendish | |
@MarkCavendish |
Mark Cavendish is one of the most successful professional cyclists of the modern era.
Cavendish holds the joint record for the most Tour de France stage wins in history. He's currently tied on 34 with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx.
He is also currently the reigning British national champion.
After joining his new team Astana Qazaqstan earlier this season, Cavendish will be going in search of a record breaking 35th Tour stage win in July.
1. Before picking up a road bike, Cavendish rode BMX events at home on the Isle of Man.
2. He joined his first cycling club at the age of nine in Douglas.
3. Cavendish developed a reputation from a young age as being fiercely competitive, and he didn't like losing. His early coach, Dot Tilbury, told the BBC in 2012: "He didn't like losing. He started to win and often he would lap the other riders in the field".
4. After leaving school, he worked in a bank for two years to attempt to fund the beginning of a cycling career.
5. His first win in senior competition came in March 2004 at the Girvan Three Day race in Scotland.
6. While on the GB academy, Cavendish along with the rest of the riders had to live on £58 a week.
7. The Manx-born rider's first team was called Team Sparkasse, a feeder team for the German T-Mobile outfit.
8. His big breakthrough as a professional on the road came at the 2007 Scheldeprijs, a race he won in Belgium.
9. His first Grand Tour stage wins came in 2008, with four at the Tour de France and two in the Giro d'Italia.
10. In 2009, Cavendish won Milan-San Remo, his first and only Monument victory to date.
11. The Manxman became road World Champion in Copenhagen in 2011, beating Australia's Matthew Goss and André Greipel of Germany.
12. Later on that year, Cavendish was appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He also won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2011.
13. He has published three books: Boy Racer, At Speed, and Tour de Force, the final one detailing his return to winning ways at the Tour de France in 2021
14. Between 2009 and 2012, Cavendish won each of the final Tour de France stages in Paris on the Champs-Élysées, the unofficial sprinters world championships.
15. If you already knew the previous fact, did you know that by winning in Paris in 2012, Cavendish became the first and only rider to win on the Champs-Élysées wearing the hallowed rainbow jersey? You do now!
16. He has depression. Cavendish was diagnosed in 2018. In an interview last year, he said: "Depression you just associate with being sad – and it’s not sad. The amount of times I’ve tried to paint a picture. But you can’t, there’s no picture to paint. You either don’t have any feelings at all or how you act or respond is completely irrational."
17. On two previous occasions, the Manxman has been diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, otherwise known as glandular fever or mono, which kept him out of competition.
18. In Autumn 2013, Cavendish married model Peta Todd in London; he is stepfather to her son from a previous relationship, and they have had four further children together.
19. In November 2021, the couple were robbed at knifepoint in the middle of the night at home in Essex. Two men were jailed in February 2023 for their part in the armed robbery.
20. As a result of the incident, the Cavendish family have bought guard dogs to help secure his home
21. The Manxman holds an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Chester for his contributions to cycling.
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Tom is a News and Features Writer at Cycling Weekly, and previously worked in communications at Oxford Brookes University. Alongside his day job, prior to starting with the team, he wrote a variety of different pieces as a contributor to a cycling website, Casquettes and Bidons, which included interviews with up and coming British riders.
-
-
Supply chain issues cause British custom bike company to pause production of carbon frames
Spoon Customs have taken the decision to pause production of its Vars Disc, in order to manage backlogs within the company
By Joe Baker • Published
-
'I hope that it gives somebody else hope': Ultra-cyclist Jack Thompson releases Everesting film ‘Rising Up’
Thompson climbed 1,000,000 metres of elevation in 2022 to raise money to help those dealing with mental health issues worldwide
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Mark Cavendish's Astana team refutes claim it breached sunglasses contract
Team says it "fully respected" its sponsorship deal with sunglasses supplier Scicon
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
Mark Cavendish buys second guard dog for £20,000 after knife point raid
Peta Cavendish said family home had become a reminder of "threat and fear" after home invasion robbery in 2021
By Adam Becket • Published
-
In photos: Mark Cavendish through the years, all his teams and the kit he's worn
18 years, six teams, 161 wins. Will 2023 be a last hurrah for the British champion?
By Adam Becket • Last updated
-
CW Live: Mark Cavendish to start season at Oman; Giro wildcards unveiled; UCI updates Covid rules; Amsterdam builds underwater garage for 7,000 bikes; Cavendish family 'terrorised' by robbery; and LTNs do not push traffic onto boundary roads
All the news you need in the world of cycling this Thursday. It's cold!
By Adam Becket • Last updated
-
Last chance saloon: Why has Mark Cavendish ended up at Astana? And will it work?
The British champion has joined the sixth different team of his professional career in the hunt for one more Tour de France stage win
By Adam Becket • Published
-
Mark Cavendish signs for Astana-Qazaqstan and will remain on the WorldTour for 2023
The transfer saga is over, Mark Cavendish has officially found a team, and will chase the Tour de France stage win record
By Tom Davidson • Published
-
CW LIVE: Mark Cavendish threatened with knife in home robbery; Israel-Premier Tech and Uno-X receive wildcard invites to the Tour de France; Sonny Colbrelli looking to enter politics and concerns raised over Van Aert and Van der Poel appearance fees
All the latest news from the world of cycling
By Tom Thewlis • Last updated
-
CW Live: Van der Poel and Pieterse win Herentals CX; Mark Cavendish still not at Astana; Lizzie Deignan awarded MBE; 1.7% of bike theft cases result in a charge; Egan Bernal targets Tour de France return?
Happy new year from Cycling Weekly, here's everything you need to know this Tuesday
By Adam Becket • Last updated