Mark Cavendish became Sir Mark Cavendish after he was made a Knight Commander by the UK's Prince William in a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old received the honour after he achieved a record breaking 35th stage win at the Tour de France this summer. Cavendish admitted he was "nervous" ahead of the ceremony, and joked that one of his children thinks he will now be seen regularly wearing a suit of armour instead of his usual lycra get-up.
"I didn’t honestly know I’d be nervous," Cavendish said according to The Guardian. "But I’m so incredibly proud of representing the country… 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.
"It's 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."
"One of the boys thinks I’m going to be walking about in armour," he added after being knighted.
Receiving the honour of being made a Knight Commander is one of the highest awards and one of the most prestigious in Britain. The award is reserved for those who have made significant contributions to public service, sports, creative arts, politics, and other areas.
Speaking at the ceremony, Cavendish reiterated that he would not race another Tour de France, but said that he would be appearing at other events later this year.
"I’ve already said I won’t do another Tour de France," he said. "That’s public knowledge."
"I’ve still got races this year," he added. "I’m still training for them, it will be really nice to race as a Knight Commander."
As previously reported by Cycling Weekly, Cavendish’s final events of the 2024 season are the Tour de France Prudential Singapore and Saitama Criteriums which take place next month. The two events are largely ceremonial in Asia.
No other UCI races are currently on his schedule and his team, Astana Qazaqstan, have not yet announced if any more are likely to be added to his programme in what is set to be his final year in the peloton.
His Singapore and Saitama appearances were thought to be his final career outings, although Cavendish hinted at the recent Tour of Britain Men that there could be other appearances yet.
"I’m definitely not finished this year. I don’t know what happens after," he said.
