Sir Mark Cavendish makes retirement stance clear as Tour de France legend receives knighthood
Sir Mark Cavendish will not race the Tour again but he was less clear about whether he is putting his bike away at the end of this season after being knighted at Buckingham Palace
by Alan Smith · The MirrorSir Mark Cavendish has reaffirmed that he will not race in the Tour de France again having been presented with a knighthood by Prince William at Buckingham Palace.
But the Manx missile, who won a record 35th stage at cycling's biggest race this summer, did not categorically rule out racing again next season.
Cavendish overtook the great Eddy Merckx with his sprint win in the opening week of July's Tour having come out of retirement in an attempt to make the record his own. And he still has some low key races to come before the end of this season with his Astana team - although his future beyond that is still up in the air.
“I’ve still got races this year,” he said. “I’m still training for them, it will be really nice to race as a Knight Commander. I’ve already said I won’t do another Tour de France. That’s public knowledge, I won’t do another Tour de France.”
On receiving a knighthood, he said: “I was really nervous. His royal highness was superb. I didn’t honestly know I’d be nervous, but I’m so incredibly proud of representing the country.”
Cavendish had met Prince William before when the Tour began in Yorskhire ten years ago and said of their conversation at the Palace: “I think the last time we met was at the Tour de France in Yorkshire and I crashed at the end of that stage. He asked me if I was doing anything else up there, and he was talking about my career, which was very nice.
“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.
“Seeing how many people ride bikes now, seeing the growth of cycling in this country now and seeing how successful we’ve become at it… it’s incredibly rewarding to be part of that. It wonderful. You know, I’m just a lad from the Isle of Man, to be a Knight Commander, that’s not something I could ever have dreamed of.”
Cavendish has registered 165 career victories on the road, including the 2011 world title, stages of all three Grand Tours, and Milan-Sanremo in 2009. He also secured a silver medal in the omnium at the 2016 Olympics, and is a three-time Madison world champion on the track.
Cavendish said one of his children expected him to come out wearing a suit of armour after he was knighted. “One of the boys thinks I’m going to be walking about in armour,” he said. “They’re very proud.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Sky Sports deal
Sky Sports launches 'lowest price' Premier League package
£43 (was £52)
Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £216 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
With Ultra HD included at no extra cost, football fans can enjoy the 2024/25 season with crystal clear picture quality.