How to turn your passion into a profession, by Mark Cavendish
The world champion cyclist reveals how he took a childhood hobby and turned it into his everyday job
Words: Jonathan Wells
Mark Cavendish enjoys what he does. The 32-year old World Champion makes that much clear. Most professional athletes have practised and perfected their craft to such an extent that they relish the opportunity to talk about something, anything, other than their careers. But every other word out of the cyclist’s mouth seems to be ‘bike’.
It’s a gift, in many ways. That Cavendish has managed to hold onto his passion for cycling for so long is almost as impressive an achievement as the contents of his trophy cabinet — which contains Olympic and Commonwealth medals, multiple World titles and tens of Tour de France stage wins.
“I grew up on the Isle of Man, and I was always on a bike,” says Cavendish. “It wasn’t even as though I had cycling in my family, and I didn’t think anything of it then, but I look back now and realise just how much time I spent cycling.
“That’s not to say I had any aspirations of being a professional,” he adds. “But, when you’re young and you enjoy something, you do it more. Then, the more you do it, the better you get, so the more you do it. It’s a cycle.
“So I was addicted to cycling, just constantly riding and training and enjoying myself. But it was still a surprise when I began entering circuit races and started winning consistently — and by quite a lot. I don’t think even then I knew that I was onto something.”
"When you’re young and you enjoy something, you do it more..."
But onto something he was. Cavendish’s route into the sport wasn’t conventional — he worked hard and saved money for two years after finishing school so he could hit the ground running as soon as he turned 18.
By this point, what had begun as a hobby was starting to look like a viable career. And Cavendish’s grit and determination, fuelled by a genuine love of the sport, was about to pay off. For, at the age of just 19, he was selected to compete in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles — where he went on to win his first gold, in the Men’s madison.
“We were nowhere near favourites,” says Cavendish of his partnership with Robert Hayles, “and we won it. That had been a year of training, so becoming World Champion, that felt quite nice. Then the offers for pro contracts started to come through — and then you feel that the time and the work was worth it. That’s when I really knew I was set on that career path.”
As a road cyclist, Cavendish turned professional in 2005. Today, he is as passionate about getting on the bike as ever. But it’s a tricky business, the cyclist admits, turning your passion into your profession, as his fellow sportsmen know all too well.
“I was reading Andre Agassi’s autobiography,” says the cyclist, “and he wrote that by the end of his career, he didn’t like tennis. But even as I read that, I wasn’t convinced. I think if he accepted that it was the pressure that had taken the joy out of the sport, and instead went back to just focusing on the tennis, he’d still love it.”
Cavendish reveals that he still feels the pressure every time he rides, and that things still get on top of him. But, at the end of the day, he says, riding the bike is still something he enjoys immensely.
“If you still enjoy the fundamental reason you do what you do — which is probably why you got so far ahead to begin with — then you’ll likely always stay one step ahead of everyone else.
"I was addicted to cycling, just constantly riding and training and enjoying myself..."
“It’s a very fortunate position to be in, to be able to do what you love. But I don’t think I’m lucky to be able to do it. Luck doesn’t come into it. I’ve still had to work very hard to achieve what I have. To take away any romanticism for a minute, first and foremost this is still my job. It’s my living now and I spend a lot of time away from my family. I spend a lot of time alone. A lot of time in pain, tired or suffering.
“But riding the bikes, just getting out there and winning races, I still love. And when I stop loving that, when I stop enjoying what you do, I think that’ll be the time to stop.”
This article was taken from the ‘How to Win’ section of Gentleman’s Journal May/June Issue. Subscribe here to get the magazine delivered directly to your door…
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