Rider Profile
Mark Cavendish
Astana Qazaqstan
Personal Details:
Teams history:
- 2024 - Astana Qazaqstan
- 2023 - Astana Qazaqstan
- 2022 - QuickStep-AlphaVinyl
- 2021 - Deceuninck-QuickStep
- 2020 - Bahrain McLaren
- 2019 - Dimension Data
- 2018 - Dimension Data
- 2017 - Dimension Data
- 2016 - Dimension Data
- 2015 - Etixx - Quick-Step
- 2014 - Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team
- 2013 - Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team
- 2012 - Sky Procycling
- 2011 - HTC-Highroad
- 2010 - Team HTC - Columbia
- 2009 - Team Columbia - HTC
- 2008 - T-MOBILE TRACK TEAM
- 2008 - TEAM COLUMBIA
- 2007 - T-Mobile Team
- 2006 - Team Sparkasse
- 2005 - Team Sparkasse
Biography:
Multiple Tour de France stage winner, Road and Track World Champion and all-time sprinting great Mark Cavendish, born 21 May 1985 in Douglas, Great Britain, turned professional in 2005 with the German Continental team Sparkasse, the feeder squad for T-Mobile, and took his first professional road win, a stage of the Tour of Berlin, that year.
Now rated as the greatest sprinter of his generation, Cavendish moved into the senior professional categories with T-Mobile in 2007 and claimed his first major win, the Scheldeprijs the same year. His first of 53 Grand Tour wins to date then came in the 2008 Giro d’Italia, with a further four being captured at the Tour de France.
Cavendish clinched his first and to date only Monument in March 2009 at Milan-Sanremo, before adding another four Giro d’Italia stage wins and six Tour de France stages, including the last on the Champs Elysées that summer. In 2011, Cavendish also claimed the World Road Championships title in Denmark, in a bunch sprint and the Tour de France points jersey.
Cavendish’s Tour de France stage tally grew steadily higher until he crashed out on the first day of the 2014 race. In 2016, he finally led the Tour for the first time in his career and snapped up another four stages. Illness, crashes and injuries sidelined Cavendish, and he missed the Tour de France in 2020 when it was held in late summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 marked a return for the British sprinter to the QuickStep programme, having raced with them from 2013-2015. Along with his haul of four stage victories at the Tour he also took the points classification. Those four wins brought his Tour stage win total to 34, equalling the all-time record held by Eddy Merckx. Just days after winning the 2022 British Road Race championship, Cavendish found out he would not be on the QuickStep roster for the Tour. He had already added another stage win at the Giro and a victory at Milano-Torino, but no chance to break the Merckx record in France.
In 2023 he took his firepower to Astana Qazaqstan, where he won for a 162nd time in his career with a dash to the line on the final stage of the Giro d’Italia in the centre of Rome. On stage 8 of the Tour de France, he crashed out with a broken collarbone. He had declared earlier in the summer that he would retire, but later confirmed one more year with Astana in an attempt to ride the Tour for a 15th time and set the stage win record a record.
Key results
🥇34x stages, Tour de France 2008-2021
🥇 2x Points classification, Tour de France 2011, ‘21
🥇17x stages Giro d'Italia 2008-23
🥇3x stages, Vuelta a España 2010
🥈 Olympic Games Omnium 2016
🥇 World Road Championships 2011
🥇 World Track Championships, Madison 2005, '08, '16
🥇3x stages, Tirreno-Adriatico 2009, ’12, ‘14
🥇3x stages, Tour de Suisse 2009, ‘14
🥇 Milan-San Remo 2009
🥇 Scheldeprijs 2007-08, '11
🥇 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne 2012, '15
🥇 National Road Race Champion 2013, ‘22
🥇 Points competition, Vuelta a España 2010
🥇 Points competition, Giro d'Italia 2013
Related Articles
'I've still got races this year' – Mark Cavendish confirms 2024 Tour de France not final event of career
By Dani Ostanek published
News Sprinter receives knighthood from Prince William – 'not something I could ever have dreamed of'
Mark Cavendish confirmed for last dance at November Tour de France Prudential Singapore Criterium
By Stephen Farrand published
News Manxman to celebrate Tour de France success in Asia but unlikely to race again with Astana Qazaqstan
Mark Cavendish to ride two post-Tour de France criteriums after record-breaking final Tour
By James Moultrie published
News Chaam and Heerlen, Netherlands to welcome sprinting legend on July 24 and 26 respectively for exhibition races
Mark Cavendish ends 17-year Tour de France career surrounded by family and cheering crowds
By Alasdair Fotheringham published
News Asked if this is his last race, the British sprinting great answers, 'Likely so'
Mark Cavendish survives the Alps to ensure his final Tour de France will end in Nice
By Barry Ryan published
News Manxman makes time cut by 6:49 on stage 20 after being fêted at the start
The Art of the Sprint - Mark Cavendish’s Nike X Damien Hirst shoes are the most unusual, and expensive, cycling collaboration of 2024
By Will Jones published
Tech UK’s richest living artist designed Cav’s final pair of custom shoes
'We did what we set out to do at this Tour de France' – No encore for Mark Cavendish in last bunch sprint in Nîmes
By Barry Ryan published
News Manxman ready to battle through Alps to complete final Tour in Nice
Tour de France sprint battle still alive as Cavendish, Gaviria, Démare beat time cut ahead of stage 16
By Dani Ostanek published
News Sprinters battle up the Plateau de Beille within the 17% limit as Tuesday's stage 16 offers one final chance to win
Mark Cavendish, Arnaud Démare relegated for irregular sprinting on stage 12 at the Tour de France
By Kirsten Frattini published
News 'Cavendish is really upset and angry about the decision because he believes it was unfair' Astana DS Mark Renshaw reacts as record-breaking sprinter is relegated from top five to the back of the bunch
Blogs
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Lauren De Crescenzo and her tough decision to miss UCI Gravel World Championships
In her own words, the gravel star explains the complex picture of the Gravel World Championships for the US team -
A proper women's race – Historic day in Emporia at Unbound Gravel
Extended gaps around women's start end with unprecedented sprint finish though 'it’s still imperfect, but it’s the best we can do for now' -
Road prep and adapting to new rules as Life Time Grand Prix begins at Fuego XL mountain bike event
Lauren De Crescenzo uses The Growler for confidence boost ride ahead of prestigious off-road series -
'Untapped gold' in store for inaugural RADL GRVL in South Australia
Nathan Haas calls gravel course 'raw, fast, exciting' after pre-ride with co-founder Valtteri Bottas -
UCI Gravel Worlds - new course, same criticisms cast doubt on event
Nathan Haas hears feedback from fellow riders on course elevation being 'selective without being stupid'