Behind the Green Jersey - A profile of Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish became the first British rider to win a sprinter’s jersey, since Malcolm Elliott in 1989, when he won the Vuelta a Espana’s green jersey last week.

The Manx rider has become one of cycling’s most successful sprinters at the young age of 25; he is also the best British Tour de France winner with 15 stage victories in three attempts.


A Great Rider is Born
He has always ridden but his love of cycling took hold at the world famous Manx Cycling Week, which has in the past attracted such rider as Jacques Anquetil and Eddie Merckx. It was there he met another British rider David Millar who Cavendish says inspired him to race.



The Manx Missile started to perfect his trade on a Tuesday night at the Isle of Man’s National Sports Centre. The regular league organised by, British cycling’s hall of fame member, Dot Tilbury MBE also spawned riders like Jonny Bellis and allowed rider to race at the nearest Velodrome in Manchester, England.

Cavendish was soon beating everybody on the road and on the track, but until his late teens cycling had to share his interests with another activity. Ballroom dancing was a favourite of Cav’s but when he realised that he could possibly make it in the world of professional cycling it was put on hold. He hasn’t taken it up since then, but he still enjoys critiquing the stars on the British show strictly come dancing.

Despite focusing all his efforts in to racing he still had to work in a bank after he left school to pay for bike maintenance and travelling.

Success Tinged with Sadness

It was in 2005 that his career really kicked off when he won the Madison event with Rob Hayles at the World Championships. He was so happy at becoming a world champion for the first time he slept with his rainbow jersey. However, the event was tinged with sadness after the death of fellow rider James Berry a few months earlier. Berry was injured on a training ride with Cavendish and Bellis and later died in hospital.

He continued the success on to the end of the season with wins in the European and British Track Championship. However, his road racing career was still developing and it wasn’t until 2007 that he finally got his breakthrough. He crossed the line first in 11 stages and took five sprinters Jersey as a stagiaire for the T-Mobile team of Jan Ulrich.

Success in Le Tour – Failure in the Olympics
The following year he was brought in to the team as the first ever professional Manx rider. He also started his first Tour de France and made an immediate impression winning four stages. However tiredness set in on the 23-year-old and he pulled out in the mountains so he could prepare for the Olympic Games. He lived to regret this though when he was the only member of the British Cycling team not to win a medal.

He competed in the men’s Madison with Bradley Wiggins who had already won gold in the men’s team and individual pursuit. They had already put on a stunning show in the World Championships earlier on in the year. Cavendish and Wiggins fell out after the event when the Manxman blamed the Londoner for his lack of effort during the event. The pair are now on speaking terms and have settled their differences.

From Track to Road
Since then Cavendish has focused on the road and hasn’t competed in any track events other than the Revolution winter series. 2009 was arguably his best year with stage wins in the Giro, the Tour and winning the Milan-San Remo. He was hit hard at the end of the year with the news that his best friend Bellis had been severely injured in a moped crash in late September.

Still suffering from the shock crash of his friend at the beginning of 2010, who was now on the road to recovery, Cavendish had a terrible start to the season. This wasn’t helped when his brother Andrew was arrested for supplying drugs. The Manx Express finally found his form and one stages in the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Romandie. He was however removed from Romandie when he made a rude gesture while crossing the line during his victory.

His season finally started to come around when he came within 11 points of winning the Tour de France green jersey. He also started his first Vuelta a Espana and became the first British rider since Robert Millar to win stages in all of the Grand Tours. There were only seven points separating him and Tyler Farrar when the Brit took his first Grand Tour sprinters jersey.

Cavendish is now preparing for the World Championships in Melbourne and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi straight afterwards.