Mark Cavendish

  • DOB21 May 1985
  • Age26
  • Height 1.75m
  • Weight69kg
  • NationalityBritish
  • Birth PlaceIsle of Man

Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish MBE is one of the most famous and successful faces in cycling and is Team Sky’s star signing for the 2012 campaign.

Previous teams: 2005-06 Team Sparkasse; 2007 T-Mobile; 2008-11 Columbia-HTC (Highroad)
Career highlights pre 2012: 2007 Scheldeprijs - 1st; Volta a Catalunya - two stage wins; Tour of Britain - two stage wins; 2008 Scheldeprijs - 1st; Giro d'Italia - two stage wins; Tour de France - four stage wins; Tour of Ireland - three stage wins; 2009 Tour of Qatar - two stage wins; Milan-Sanremo - 1st; Giro d'Italia - three stage wins (two days in maglia rosa); Tour de Suisse - two stage wins; Tour de France - six stage wins; 2010 Tour de France - five stage wins; Vuelta a Espana - three stage wins and 1st Points jersey; 2011 Scheldeprijs - 1st; Giro d'Italia - two stage wins (one day in maglia rosa); Tour de France - five stage wins and 1st Green jersey; London Surrey Cycle Classic - 1st; Tour of Britain - two stage wins; World Championships Road Race - 1st.
Official website:http://www.markcavendish.co.uk/
2012 results: Tour of Qatar - 1st Stage 3, 1st Stage 5, 6th overall;
Tour of Oman - 96th overall;
2011 results: Tour Down Under - 129th overall;
Tour of Qatar - 38th overall;
Tour of Oman - 1st Stage 6, 2nd Stage 1, 93rd overall;
Strade Bianche - 28th overall;
Tirreno - Adriatico - 125th overall;
Milano - San Remo - 52nd overall;
Gent - Wevelgem - 60th overall;
Ronde van Vlaanderen - 110th overall;
Scheldeprijs - 1st overall; Paris - Roubaix - DNF; Giro d'Italia - 1st Stage 10, 1st Stage 12, 2nd Stage 2, DNS; Tour de Suisse - 127th overall;
Tour de France - 1st Stage 5, 1st Stage 21, 1st Stage 15, 1st Stage 11, 1st Stage 7, 2nd Stage 10, 130th overall;
Vuelta a Espana - DNF; Tour of Britain - 1st Stage 1, 1st Stage 8b, 2nd Stage 5, 13th overall;
World Championships - 1st overall; Paris - Tours - 42nd overall;
Upcoming schedule: Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne 26 February;

The ‘Manx Missile’ brings with him a world-class pedigree having enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in 2011.

In September he became world champion after securing the World Road Race title and the coveted rainbow jersey in Copenhagen.

That followed July’s Tour de France, where Cavendish confirmed his position as the world’s leading sprinter by powering to five stage victories and securing the prestigious Maillot Vert, or Green Jersey, as the race’s overall leading points scorer.

In addition to 20 Tour de France stage wins, Cavendish has secured a further 10 Grand Tour stage victories in his glittering career, as well as the overall points title at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana.

In 2009 Cavendish also won the prestigious Milan-San Remo race, one of the sport’s recognised ‘Monuments’.

After seven prosperous seasons with Bob Stapleton’s HTC-Highroad team, Cavendish is certain he is in the right place to extend that remarkable tally as he enters the prime years of his career.

He says: “I had plenty of offers once it was announced that HTC-Highroad were finishing, but I wanted to go for the best team in cycling – somewhere where I could get results and be happy – and Team Sky fitted the bill with everything.

“I’ve grown up with most of the riders and management so I know it’s a great, great set-up and it’s the biggest team in cycling right now. I’m super excited.”

Many analysts are already pondering whether Cavendish will be able to balance his Tour de France ambitions with his quest to become Great Britain’s first gold medallist at the London Olympic Games, but the man himself is confident in his ability and knows he’ll be given every opportunity to prosper in both.

“They are equal priorities for me,” he reveals. “And I wouldn’t have set them out as targets if I didn’t think they were achievable. I’ve got great two great teams behind me at Team Sky and British Cycling, and hopefully we’ll be successful in both.

“There are six days between both races and it should help that this year’s Tour route isn’t as hard as it has been in the last two years. Most of the favourites for the Olympics are going to be riding the Tour as well, so we’ll all be in the same situation.”

Cavendish is also confident that Team Sky will be to cater for his sprint ambitions at the Tour while also managing Bradley Wiggins’s bid for the yellow jersey.

“That’s also definitely possible,” he explains. “Bradley wants to be part of my lead-out train in the flatter stages because it helps him with his positioning, and I’ll do everything I can for him in the mountain stages.

“If we pull together as a group of guys we can overcome anything and win yellow jerseys, green jerseys, whatever.”

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