Cavendish showed promise as a BMX and mountain bike rider, and was then part of the new era of investment in cycling in Britain as British Cycling dominated track cycling at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
He began his professional career on the road in 2005 in a feeder team for T-Mobile, winning his first Tour stage in 2008 for Team Columbia.
Cavendish suffered from injury and illness from 2017 and hinted at the end of the 2020 season that he could retire.
But following a return to form the following year he won four more Tour stages and the green jersey in his second spell with Quick Step.
Cavendish and his family were the victims of a violent robbery at their home in 2021.
He was omitted from Quick Step’s Tour squad the following year, after which he signed for Astana-Qazaqstan for 2023.
Cavendish was set to retire at the end of the 2023 season but, after a crash ended his involvement in the Tour that summer, he delayed it by a year.
Having jointly held the record for Tour stage wins with the legendary Eddy Merckx since 2021, Cavendish surpassed the Belgian with victory in Saint Vulbas in July.
He finished third in the Tour de France Saitama Criterium in Japan last weekend.
