Mark Cavendish will retire at the end of the season

Mark Cavendish, one of Britain’s most successful cyclists, will retire at the end of the season.

Speaking at a Giro d’Italia press conference, Cavendish, 38, said: “Cycling has been my life for over 25 years.

“He taught me so much about life, commitment, loyalty, sacrifice and perseverance – all important things that I have to pass on now as a father.”

He added: “Motorcycling has given me the opportunity to see the world, meet amazing people in and out of the sport – many of whom I call friends.

“Today is my son Casper’s fifth birthday; it’s a day off and now I can spend it with them. Now it’s important that I’m there for every birthday, every school concert – it’s important that I can be there for them.”

A brilliant career with a fairytale ending

Cavendish enjoyed a glittering career as a sprinter, taking victories on the flatter, faster stages of racing, particularly the Grand Tours.

He has won 161 races since 2005 and two Tour green jerseys.

Cavendish’s other major achievements include a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the rainbow jersey at the 2011 World Road Championships, the 2009 Milan-San Remo one-day classic, 16 Giro stage wins and three in the Vuelta a España.

He is currently riding for Astana Qazaqstan in the Giro, which ends in Rome on Sunday.

Cavendish has had an injury and illness-ridden 2017, hinting at the end of the 2020 season that he may retire.

But after returning to form the following year, he won four more Tour stages and the green jersey in his second spell with the successful Quick Step team, which helped revive his career.

Cavendish and his family were victims of a violent robbery at their home in 2021.

He was left out of Quick Step’s Tour team the following year, then signed with Astana Qazaqstan for 2023.

He will attempt to break the Tour’s record for stage wins at this year’s race, which starts in Bilbao, Spain, on July 1.

He added: “This is the perfect opportunity to say with absolute joy in my heart that this will be my last season as a professional cyclist.

“Right now I don’t need to talk about my short and long term plans – I will always be a cyclist, that’s for sure.

“But for this last stretch, I’d like to just enjoy what has made me happy for the last 25 years, which is just competing.”

The Manx Rocket

Isle of Man Cavendish showed promise as a BMX and mountain bike rider and was then part of a new era of investment in British cycling which saw British Cycling dominate track cycling at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Cavendish began his professional career in 2005 with a feeder team for T-Mobile, winning his first stage of the Tour in 2008 for Team Colombia.

He was known throughout his career as “The Manx Rocket” for his incredible finishing speed during bunch sprints.

At 5ft 7in, he has a low center of gravity and can occupy an aerodynamically advantageous position on the bike during powerful bursts of speed.

Cavendish dominated the sprint for many years and is considered a major influence on the younger riders in the peloton, including emerging British talent such as Quick Step’s Ethan Vernon.

Cavendish is known to have a fiery personality on the bike and occasionally off it, and during the 2021 Tour he was filmed berating a team mechanic before a stage.

Former Quick Step coach Tom Steeles told BBC Sport last year: “When he gets off the team bus, you never know if he’s going to come back in five minutes like a wild bull because there’s something wrong with the bike.

“But you can always talk to him, and once he’s on the mend, it’s over. It’s never personal, but you never know how he might react.”

Cavendish is hugely popular in the peloton and fiercely defends his colleagues who come under criticism.

His former team-mate and 2018 Tour de France winner Gerent Thomas paid tribute, saying: “(Cavendish) told me at the start of the Giro (about his retirement). I didn’t really believe him and thought he would continue.

“He really is the greatest sprinter of all time when you see his record. It was an honor to ride with him and be friends with him for 25 years, it shows how old we both are now. Incredible.

“What an amazing career he’s had and he’s still got to get that Tour record and hopefully win a stage here.”

British Cycling director Stephen Park said: “Kav is without a doubt the sport’s greatest sprinter and will be remembered by fans around the world for his 53 Grand Tour stage wins.

“What stands out most about Kav as an athlete is the huge sense of pride he has shown every time he pulls on the British Cycling Team and British National Champion jerseys – a quality we want to instill in every single member of our team.”