Sir Mark Cavendish is relishing the prospect of racing as a Knight Commander as he received a knighthood at Windsor Castle.
The 39-year-old from the Isle of Man finished this season with a record-breaking 35th career Tour stage win in what he said would “likely” be his last race.
However, he has postponed retirement before, and has since given mixed messages about whether he will race again.
Asked on Wednesday about his future in the sport, after receiving his knighthood from the Prince of Wales, Cavendish confirmed he still has races lined up for 2024, but repeated his vow that he would not compete in the Tour de France again.
“I’ve still got races this year,” Cavendish 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, Cavendish 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.”
He revealed he spoke to William about cycling, saying: “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.”
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.
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Cycling journalist Michael Hutchinson reacts to Mark Cavendish’s record-breaking 35 stage victory at the Tour de France, three years after matching Eddy Merckx on 34 during the 2021 Tour
He also secured a silver medal in the omnium at the 2016 Olympics and is a three-time Madison world champion on the track.
He reflected on his long and successful career and expressed his delight at the growth of the sport in recent years.
“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,” Cavendish said.
“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 added 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,” Cavendish said. “They’re very proud.”
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