This article was originally published in Issue 116 of Rouleur magazine in February 2023.
One of the first things you notice when you meet Mark Cavendish is how softly spoken he is. Arriving at the airport as we head out to Ibiza for a weekend of riding with high-end cycling/foodie destination company LeBlanq, who offer what they describe as ‘curated breaks for the cycling gourmand’, the 34-time Tour de France stage winner slips into the back of the crowd at the boarding gate unnoticed. As other passengers jostle trying to get ahead in the queue, Cavendish looks out from under his cap and quietly says, “Hello.”
Later, as we sit on a sun-soaked terrace looking out to the sea, I ask him if that shyness is something which surprises people. “Maybe,” he replies. “People take a perception of my personality based on what they see on TV. When you’re talking after a period of exertion – in my case, a race – you’re going to get different responses.” Is he an introvert? “Yeah…I wasn’t always,” he admits. “I had some issues a few years ago and I’ve lacked a little bit of confidence since then, I guess. Like, you lack the confidence, a little bit, of being who you are.”
Cavendish is referring to his personal struggles with mental illness, of which he has spoken openly in the past. In August 2018, he was diagnosed with clinical depression. It followed a tough period for the Manx rider, who’d been battling fatigue after having suffered from the Epstein-Barr virus in early 2017. There was also a string of injuries: the infamous Sagan incident at the 2017 Tour de France, crashing out at both the Abu Dhabi Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico the following season and a horrendous crash into a bollard during the final kilometres of Milan-Sanremo that left him with a fractured rib, bruising and abrasions.
While he’s spoken about his experience of depression candidly in past interviews – and has expressed his desire to raise awareness of the topic – Cavendish admits that talking about his mental health can put him in a “dark place” for a couple of days. Not wanting to push him towards that, I say we can talk about anything he wants and there is no desire to press him on anything he’s uncomfortable with. “You know, I really appreciate that,” he says with genuine sincerity. “I mean, like you saying that, it’s human.”
Being frequently asked to analyse himself is something Cavendish is used to, but that…