Cavendish’s journey has not been straightforward.
Early in his career, he showed promise as a BMX and mountain bike rider before becoming part of a British Cycling set-up that went on to dominate the track events at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
His pro career on the road began in 2005 in a feeder team for T-Mobile, and he won his first Tour stage in 2008 for Team Columbia.
But from 2017 he was struck by injury, illness and depression – and the Briton feared his career could be over when he failed to win a race during 2019 and 2020.
A remarkable turnaround brought four more Tour stage wins – and the overall green jersey – in 2021 during a second spell with the Belgian Quick Step team.
Once again, a tumultuous year followed, and Cavendish and his family were the victims of a violent robbery at their home in 2021.
He did not secure a place at the 2022 Tour and his future in cycling again looked in doubt before Astana-Qazaqstan pounced at the last minute for 2023.
They took Cavendish to a 14th – and what should have been final – Tour but a horror crash in which he sustained a broken collarbone abruptly ended his race and left him determined not to allow that to be his final farewell.
And so it was that in Saint Vulbas earlier this year, he powered to the line in trademark fashion to beat the long-standing record set by Belgian great Eddy Merckx.
The ‘Manx Missile’ ended his career fittingly with victory in Singapore in November – a month after he was knighted.
Cavendish was the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2011.
In 2023, the Lifetime Achievement award was presented to Liverpool, Celtic and Scotland football legend Sir Kenny Dalglish.
