I was 25, rich, successful and a complete mess. I wasn’t steady personally, I wasn’t steady professionally. I only managed to stay disciplined because cycling’s my life. Cycling’s what gets me through. And winning. Without it, I’d be a mess all the time.
Mark Cavendish is the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France’s green jersey, the first to wear the iconic rainbow jersey in almost 50 years and our only ever rider to capture the Giro d’Italia points title. He is the most prolific sprinter in the Tour’s history and – according to L’Équipe – the best sprinter of all time. But smashing records and racking up victories means whole new levels of fame: and this has come at a price.
Living in the goldfish bowl, he has come under fire for his bombastic riding style and been portrayed as everything from an outlaw to a psychopath. Riding for Team Sky at the 2012 Tour, Cav soon found his own sprint interests to be incompatible with the team’s other goals, while the expectations of a nation made his London Olympic failure hard to take.
In At Speed Cav takes you through the highs and lows of it all in intimate detail. This is a take-no-prisoners account of life at the pinnacle of his sport and learning how to survive in the fast lane both on and off the bike.