Inside a remarkable career – by those who know him best
Cavendish’s nearest and dearest speak to Tom Cary about his mental toughness and unrelenting dedication
‘I don’t know another rider who respects the sport as much as Mark does’
Peta Cavendish (Wife)
“I would be lying if I said those years [when he was battling with illness and injury] were not difficult. It is hard when everyone begins to write you off. Of course we heard those voices. It’s impossible not to. We went through every emotion. But I never stopped believing. I don’t know another rider who respects the sport as much as Mark does. My biggest fear was that this relationship, this love affair that he has always had with cycling, would end in bitterness and regret. So I kept pushing, kept believing. Mark says I believed in him more than he believed in himself at times and maybe I did. I was just so determined that it shouldn’t end like that. I’m so proud of him.”
‘Cav’s like a computer. He’s analysing the moves, what’s the right time to go’ Vasilis Anastopoulos (Coach)
“We competed against each other a few times on the track in the early 2000s but he was a big star and I was just a small guy from nowhere in Greece. I confess my first impression – how do I say this politely – was a bit: ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ He was screaming and shouting and moving on the track, you know? From then on I followed his career on TV.
“So when Brian Holm [then sports director for Deceuninck– Quick-step] said to me in 2020, ‘You know, Vasi, if someone can work with Cav, it’s you. Good luck!’ it was a pretty big moment. A risk for me as well. But straight away we were on the same wavelength.
“I had heard a podcast with a respected trainer from a Worldtour team, who said ‘Mark is not going to win any races from now on’. I said to Cav: ‘This is what they think of you. Help me to help you prove them wrong’. He has. Everybody says that Cav is a difficult character but I see a different guy.
“He’s not just my rider anymore. He’s my friend. He’s almost part of my family. When we first met up in Greece, we invited him to my home for dinner and my wife was nervous. She was asking ‘What shall we talk about?’ I said ‘We won’t talk about cycling.’ It was one of the best evenings we could have had.
“He is the ultimate professional and he deserves this. Cav’s like a computer. He’s analysing the moves, what’s the right time to go. I wasn’t worried about his climbing at the Tour. When he was with me in Greece, we did a lot of climbing behind the scooter and a lot of training on the track, for sprints.”
He’s still the same as when I first met him – loud and confident in his ability’ Geraint Thomas
(Former housemate and team-mate) “I joked the other day that when I first met Cav, he was just some chav from the Isle of Man who wanted to be from Liverpool, with his gold Vauxhall Corsa, all suped-up. He’s still the same guy really. He hasn’t changed much. He’s still loud and confident in his ability. He’s always had that pure speed, really. He’s gifted. Obviously he has to work hard to get through the mountain days, but he’s lucky to have that talent. His comeback is testament to that belief he has in himself. And to his family and team-mates. Not that he’s needy, but he needs a lot of support. The mental side of things, how you speak to him, how you deal with him, that’s the key to getting the best out of him.”
‘There was always something about him’ Rod Ellingworth (Former coach, mentor and team principal)
“I always remember Cav turning up at the Manchester Velodrome in January 2004, speeding around the car park before getting out with his tracksuit tucked into his socks. We were all like, ‘Who is this?’ He was part of my first intake for the academy at British Cycling; a group that also included Ed Clancy and Geraint Thomas. They lived together in a house in Fallowfield.
“There was always something about him. I’d seen him race in the national track championships the year before, when he was a junior but racing with the seniors. He had a big crash but got up and tried to carry on. I was impressed by that.
“He was raw but he was so passionate. And so opinionated. That has never changed. Even the way he talks about racing, his attention to detail, what each race is going to look like. It doesn’t matter if it’s going to be a sprint finish. He’s got an opinion on how to win GC!
“He wouldn’t still be doing this all these years later unless he loved it. Cav wears his heart on his sleeve, and sometimes that lands him in trouble. We’ve certainly had our ups and downs, right from day one. Just because he has such a strong character. But we’ve always had respect for each other. I’ve only ever wanted the best for him and all the lads I’ve worked with.
“This win puts him right up there with the all-time greats. I mean, he already was. When you look at, say, Eddy Merckx and how he won his Tour stages, there was a variety of sprints and time trials and mountain stages. Cav only has a certain number of stages he can target each year. He’s made a lot of them count.”