Mark Cavendish received his knighthood at Windsor Castle. The 39-year-old was made a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List on 14 June this year.
The ‘Manx Missile’ received the honour in recognition of ‘his outstanding contribution to the sport of cycling, his on-Island and off-Island charity work and as a sporting ambassador for the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.’
This year he became the rider with the most Tour de France stages of all-time, claiming an unprecedented 35th victory on stage five of the 2024 race.
The announcement of the Manxman’s knighthood in June came just a few weeks after he’d secured his 164th career victory to make him the most successful men’s sprint cyclist in history.
Asked about his future in the sport, Cavendish said he still has some races to do this year.
“I’m still training for them,” he said: “It will be really nice to race as a Knight Commander.”
On receiving his knighthood, Cavendish said he spoke to Prince William about cycling, which he described as “very nice”.
“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 said. “He asked me if I was doing anything else up there, and he was talking about my career.”
