Mark Cavendish became Sir Mark Cavendish after he was made a Knight Commander by the UK's Prince William in a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old received the honour after he achieved a record breaking 35th stage win at the Tour de France this summer. Cavendish admitted he was "nervous" ahead of the ceremony, and joked that one of his children thinks he will now be seen regularly wearing a suit of armour instead of his usual lycra get-up.
"I didn’t honestly know I’d be nervous," Cavendish said according to The Guardian. "But I’m so incredibly proud of representing the country… I am very fortunate to have got to do what I love for so many years, and to see other people inspired by that and riding bikes themselves.
"One of the boys thinks I’m going to be walking about in armour," he added after being knighted.
"I’ve already said I won’t do another Tour de France," he said. "That’s public knowledge."
"I’ve still got races this year," he added. "I’m still training for them, it will be really nice to race as a Knight Commander."
As previously reported by Cycling Weekly, Cavendish’s final events of the 2024 season are the Tour de France Prudential Singapore and Saitama Criteriums which take place next month. The two events are largely ceremonial in Asia.
"I’m definitely not finished this year. I don’t know what happens after," he said.
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