The Manx Missile, as he was dubbed when he shot on to the scene in the late 2000s, won nine stages of the Tour de France in his first two attempts and carried on winning from there.
Type his name into YouTube and you’ll find a whole host of fan videos, highlights compilations and the odd gem from a press conference, so here are the six best videos that encapsulate Cavendish’s career to date.
1. What better place to start than the Tour de France, where Cavendish’s 26 wins sits third on the all-time list of stage winners behind cycling greats Bernard Hinault (28) and Eddy Merckx (34). This video shows all of his wins between his debut in 2008 and his most recent appearance in 2015.
2. It’s a tough call to judge Cavendish’s greatest achievement – all his Tour de France stage wins or his World Championship title in 2011.
Cavendish became only Britain’s second ever men’s road race world champion by sprinting to victory in Copenhagen, ensuring he wore the rainbow jersey for Team Sky in 2012.
3. Shortly after bursting onto the Tour de France scene in 2008, Cavendish won one of the biggest one-day races on the calendar, taking the 2009 Milan-San Remo title.
He beat Cervelo Test Team duo Heinrich Haussler and Thor Hushovd to the line in the Primavera – his only Monument win to date.
4. Even when he’s not on the bike, Cav gets pretty passionate about racing. After crashing out of the 2014 Tour de France on stage one, he returned to the race to support his OmegaPharma-Quick Step team and got a front seat in the team car.
As Michal Kwiatkowski went for the win on a mountainous stage 16, Cav started telling sports director Davide Bramati how to instruct the Pole. Maybe a career in management will suit Cav when he retires?
5. Conducting interviews seems to be one of Cavendish’s least favourite things, but when a journalist at the 2015 Tour de San Luis asked him a question about doping, his response was excellent, if a little NSFW.
6. One to tug on the heartstrings to end with. Cav appeared on the remake of Surprise Surprise a few years back to meet a chap who recovered from a stroke aged 44 to cycle 200 miles a week in a matter of months.
Cavendish, who also does a lot of work with the Help for Heroes charity, said it was humbling to Paul, for whom the Manxman was an inspiration during his recovery.
