BBC
Cavendish said he has been able to enjoy the ‘slower pace’ on the island
Cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish has said he is enjoying his retirement from competitive racing with more visits to the Isle of Man, a place where he said “I feel most Mark”.
The 40-year-old from Laxey on the Isle of Man ended his career on a high in 2024 with a record 35 stage wins at the Tour de France.
Adjusting to life on the other side, he told the BBC that he had been able to travel back to the island “loads” including at this year’s TT races.
Being home, he said he had “the sense that everyone’s super proud of what I’ve done” and it was the place “where I feel most, just Mark”.
Cavendish was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year last year.
In an eventful year for the cyclist, he was also knighted in the King’s Birthday Honours, which he said he felt very grateful for the “recognition”.
‘Proud Manxman’
Known as the ‘Manx Missile’, he said through retiring he was able to travel back to the island far more.
“It’s been great to be back loads this year,” he said, adding: “My heart’s always there – to be able to spend time there again, I just love it.”
Cavendish said nothing compared to the Manx landscape for cycling, as even in bad weather it “toughens you up”.
“It’s my favourite place in the world to ride a bike and for me it’s the best place in the world to train,” he said.
He also said he more generally enjoyed being on the island, where “life kind of slows down”.
“It’s beautiful, waking up and seeing the sea on a morning is something that has always been with me from growing up there,” he said, adding: “I’m a proud Manxman”.
The raceway at the island’s National Sport Centre, where Cavendish rode as a child and where he fell in love with cycling, was renamed after him last year.
IOM Government
A mural at the raceway is made up of the names of 1,000 school children
He said: “As long as I can remember there were 200 kids down there on a Tuesday night, and there’s still 200 kids down there on a Tuesday night.”
That enthusiasm was something he wanted to “continue seeing” to create more cyclists and see “the three legs represented in cycling across the world”.
Moving forward Cavendish said he wanted to stay close to cycling and continue to “do good” for the sport.
Cavendish has shared the highs and lows of the last four years in his latest book, Believe.
He said: “I’m the biggest believer that if you put the hard work into anything you want to achieve and you believe enough – then you can do what you want to do.”
“I was never physically best cyclist by any means. But I worked and I believed.”