Tributes paid to Sir Mark Cavendish ahead of receiving his Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence

Tindle News

Tributes paid to Sir Mark Cavendish ahead of receiving his Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence.

Transcript

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.

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