Mark Cavendish talks about Lance Armstrong and doping in cycling. He looks back on past scandals and efforts to make the sport cleaner.
Considered one of the greatest sprinters in history, Mark Cavendish retired in 2024 with an exceptional record: 165 victories including 35 in the Tour de France. Nicknamed “The Man from the Isle of Man” or “The Cav”, the Briton looked back on his career and the evolution of cycling during an interview for Sports discussionon the occasion of the promotion of his book Believe.
The record holder for stages on the Grande Boucle addressed the sensitive issue of doping. For him, cycling has progressed greatly since the scandals of the Lance Armstrong years, even if the weight of these affairs remains heavy to bear. “We can never escape our past as a sport, but cycling invests time, effort and money in the fight against doping. There will always be people who get caught for cheating and such”he explained.
Cavendish insists that cheating exists in all areas. “It’s not about saying: ‘I’m a cheater, so I’m going to become a cyclist.’ It doesn’t work like that. Cheating is found in all sports. We also find it in entertainment, business, wherever there is money to be made: people cheat”he added.
“One of the cleanest sports in the world”
The sprinter thus defends the idea that modern cycling is one of the cleanest sports in the world. “Basically I believe I have participated in one of the cleanest sports in the world, if not the cleanest, because they are taking the necessary steps to combat doping”he pointed out. Each performance is scrutinized, but the measures put in place guarantee a healthier peloton according to him.
Finally, Cavendish returned to Lance Armstrong, who had been a source of inspiration for him in his early days. “Lance was very kind to me when I was young. I think he obviously got a lot more out of the sport than anyone else. But he’s also lost a lot more than anyone else in this sport.”he admitted.
