Tributes paid to Sir Mark Cavendish ahead of receiving his Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00My daddy is a champion.
00:06Daddy's amazing racing is the best.
00:11Casper loves him so much.
00:14And I always like him the best I ever have.
00:19Can you talk about daddy?
00:21I can say I love him.
00:22Say I love daddy.
00:24I love daddy.
00:26I love daddy.
00:28I love daddy.
00:29You love daddy.
00:31I don't think the kids have quite grasped what this kind of next bit is like.
00:37Actually the first day when we were back over here the other day I was like I've got to go to the supermarket.
00:41And he's like well I'll come.
00:43Because he doesn't do that normally.
00:45He never goes to the supermarket and does the shopping and whatever.
00:47So absolutely loves the supermarket trip Mark.
00:50He's like a kid.
00:51Imagine you took like your small children shopping.
00:54That's what it's like going to the supermarket.
00:56He's like all this stuff.
00:57He'll just put it all in.
00:58Especially now when he doesn't have to be told for his weight.
01:00So he's like living his best life.
01:02My first memories would be of when he was racing down at the NSC as just a young boy really.
01:07Kind of a bit rough around the edges.
01:09You know he's always getting, not in trouble, but you know he'd be kind of on that fine line of dots shouting at them.
01:19He came down the NSC cycling when he was nine years old on his BMX bike.
01:25He didn't win, but he was keen.
01:27And rumour has it that he said to his mum, if you get me a mountain bike I can win this.
01:33So the next Christmas I think he got a mountain bike.
01:36And he duly went out and won the following season.
01:39So that was the start of it really.
01:41He actually came up my house and asked me if I'd coach him.
01:44He'd really, really work hard all the time.
01:47And he would actually do what you tell them like.
01:52Which is always a good thing if you're trying to coach somebody, as long as they do what you say.
01:58He would come out on group rides with us and he would just hang on and hang on and hang on.
02:02And if he got dropped, he would just show up week after week.
02:06And he wasn't really exceptional when he was younger, I didn't think so anyway.
02:10And I think a lot of people would probably say the same.
02:12He wasn't really this standout kind of youngster coming through.
02:17He was as good as the rest that we had.
02:21But you could just see it in him that if he got beaten he'd be out to win the next time.
02:27Nothing would faze him really.
02:30When this 13 year old precocious young talent emerged on the scene in the late 90s.
02:35No one could have imagined the success that would follow.
02:39At 13 he won his first national title.
02:43Before he was out of his teens he won a world title, world medicine title in Los Angeles.
02:48And in 2006, the following year after that, he won a Commonwealth title in Melbourne, Australia.
02:53And it went on. In 2007 he made his first Tour de France debut.
02:58It wasn't a good debut, things went wrong.
03:01But the following year in 2008 he came back with a vengeance and he won four stages.
03:06And his career was spent from there.
03:08He even remembers me saying to him one day, one day you'll be world champion.
03:12I said to him, don't you forget me when you're world champion.
03:15He won the first title in the States and rang me up straight away, I haven't forgotten you.
03:20Towards the end of his career it was this goal of the 35 stage wins.
03:25First of all 34 to equal Eddie Merckx, which he did.
03:29And it was all looking pretty well in 2023 until on stage 8 he crashed and he broke his collarbone.
03:37And that was said to be his final year in professional cycling.
03:41One thing I've learnt over my long period in newspapers is never to write off Mark Cavendish.
03:47The 35th, it was just, you know, you think he's got one more chance, he's got one more chance.
03:53And when it actually came it was unreal and it was just the most magical of moments.
04:02When he won I was just so, so proud.
04:05And unfortunately I didn't get to watch it live.
04:08My phone was going ping, ping, ping.
04:11And all my friends sending me messages that he'd won number 35 and yeah, incredibly proud.
04:19For somebody to win one stage of the Tour de France, that sets them up for life, that's a massive achievement.
04:25But 35 of them, you can't even comprehend that really.
04:30He's proved that he is the best sprinter in the world.
04:35And he's the biggest ambassador the Isle of Man has ever had.
04:39He's always been a kind-hearted, generous person.
04:43That's what most people don't see I think.
04:46Because you're seeing him doing what he does for a living.
04:50And I think any top sportsperson, I'm not thinking average sportsperson.
04:58I'm talking about the absolute best in what they do.
05:02They are always generally a little bit edgy.
05:06But that's what gets them there as well.
05:08It's that kind of drive to win.
05:11And they're going to be determined to win no matter what.
05:15So he's always got that edginess.
05:17But then as soon as that switches off outside of cycling, he is quite a calm guy.
05:22Hi Mark, just a message of congratulations on your Lifetime Achievement Award.
05:28I think everybody around the world, everybody in the Isle of Man sure really appreciates everything you do.
05:33The inspiration you are to young cyclists, young athletes and everybody is commendable.
05:41We've spent many, many years together as friends.
05:43Many years training.
05:45I still think I could be a professional cyclist, there's no doubt.
05:48And maybe I would have got the award if I would have continued on that journey.
05:54No, only joking mate.
05:55What you've achieved with 35 wins at the Tour de France, among everything else, is an amazing achievement.
06:00So I'm so glad you finished on 35, obviously my racing number for all the years.
06:05But yeah, I'm so happy you've managed to get this award.
06:11I know you always wanted to be a motorbike racer, so you could maybe turn now professional and do the TT.
06:17That would go down well, I know you think you can do MotoGP.
06:22All the years coming to the races with me.
06:25But yeah, again, great achievement.
06:28And there's just one last thing.
06:30I'm definitely still not calling you Sir.
06:33So Mark, a huge congratulations for me who's followed your career from day one to the very end.
06:40And I'm so delighted and so proud to say that.
06:42Daddy, we're so proud of you!
06:46The Isle of Man could be super proud of this wonderful cyclist who's put the Isle of Man on the map.
06:52Well done to you, Cav. Well deserved.
06:54You've had an absolutely amazing career.
06:57I'm sure whatever you're going to do from here on in is going to be a success for you as well.
07:02And I wish you all the best.
07:04What I'd like to say to Sir Mark is I'm really, really proud of you.
07:10You're just way in above what I think anybody thought you could do.
07:16But I knew how hard you would work.
07:19And I was always confident in you getting 35 and carrying on until you got it.
07:25And I just wish you all the best in what you're going to do for the rest of your life.
07:30I think it goes without saying how proud we all are of you, Mark.
07:36I hope you know that the people closest to you know exactly what it's taken to kind of
07:41not just reach what you hoped you would, but completely surpass it.
07:46Both in achievements on the road, but also the person that you've become for the sport
07:53that not only has given you everything, but that you've given everything to
07:59ever since you were the same size as the kids that we see riding around the NSC.
08:05So congratulations and we love you and we're really proud of you.
08:11And about time you can start helping out around the house a bit more now.