I went from winning races to struggling to get up stairs
As he makes a shock return to the Tour de France the former world champion tells James Moore how he beat the virus that almost ended his cycling career
Struck by illness in his prime, cycling legend Mark Cavendish has had a tough few years. “I went from winning races to not being able to walk up stairs,” he says. Back in 2016, in a season where he competed in both road and track events, Mark had claimed his first yellow jersey in the Tour de France and four stage wins, came second in the World Championship road race and won a silver at the Rio Olympics.
But his strong form ended when he was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever and can flare up when your immune system is compromised.
“I had suffered glandular fever when I was younger,” explains Mark, 36. “It lies dormant inside you and can come back if your body is put under huge stress. I had a massive year in 2016 and it just took its toll on me.”
The Epstein-Barr virus can cause extreme fatigue, weakness and muscle pain. While it can be diagnosed with blood tests, treatment mainly involves getting plenty of rest.
Initially, Mark continued to compete, battling injuries along the way.
But he struggled with the effects of the virus and eventually was forced to take a break from cycling altogether to recuperate.
“The hardest thing is that as a professional sportsperson your life is about working hard,” he says.
“It hung around for a long time and affected my mental health. You’re stuck – there’s no perception of what’s in the future. Physically and mentally it has taken a long time to recover.”
Despite the setback, Mark, who was born on the Isle of Man, says he never considered retiring fully. His persistence paid off and now the Manx Missile is finally performing at his best and feeling fully fit once more.
“I’m back to winning ways again,” he says, clearly relieved.
Mark recently won four stages of the Tour of Turkey, after following a modified training regime that sees him concentrate on “power output and heart rate rather than just going full gas.” He puts his newfound energy down to a revamped, veg-focused diet,
which is boosting his wellbeing.
While he hasn’t ditched meat completely, Mark now describes himself as a flexitarian, having cut down on his meat and upped the amount of vegetarian or vegan meals he consumes. “I feel a lot less lethargic in general,” he explains.
“You’ll always feel tired as a professional cyclist training all the time, but it’s weird because when you have a rest day, that’s when you feel the lowest. Now I’m definitely invigorated. “You feel a lot better in yourself.” The transition has been gradual. “I always tried to use more plantbased drinks as dairy alternatives as I didn’t feel very good with milk,” he says. “But when one of my teammates turned vegan last year I laughed at him and said: ‘How are you supposed to perform like that?’
“Then he began to bring beans and things to substitute meat and I understood it a bit more.
“When we started racing again last year we got a team chef who is very good at making vegan food for my teammate and when I saw it and it looked so good I asked if I could have it.
“It opened my eyes that I had been a bit ignorant to the fact that you’re not just substituting, it’s a whole new food group, there are different flavours and different textures.
“I haven’t cut out animal-based products completely but I streamlined to a plant-based diet. It’s wonderful.”
Mark has become an ambassador for Meatless Farm (meatlessfarm. com), a company that makes plantbased food to help people reduce their intensively farmed meat consumption. When he’s at home with his wife, model Peta Todd, Mark’s favourite meal uses Meatless Farm mince – made from soya protein – served up with nachos, fresh guacamole and vegan cheese.
“I tell you, it’s a dream,” he says. “My wife also makes a vegan curry with aubergine in to give it that chewy texture – before, I would have wanted that texture to come from meat.”
When it comes to fuelling his training, Mark says: “In the morning I’ll have muesli with coconut milk, the usual training sports gels or bean cookies.
“I’ll have salad for lunch with beans and chickpeas and dinner could be spaghetti or burritos.
“It’s similar when I’m racing, but at those times the team’s food is all prepared for us.”
One reason Mark has chosen to eat more vegetarian food is to help the environment “because of the amount of damage that’s done to the world through meat and dairy farming”.
He says: “I just think it’s important to look at the world around us.
“I’ve got four kids and I think it’s on our generation to provide a future from a sustainability point of view.”
When it comes to his own future in the sport, which has included an incredible 30 Tour de France stage wins, Mark says he will “just see what happens. I love cycling and I always will love cycling. It has been my life for 25 years”.
He has certainly passed his passion on to at least one of his children.
“They can all ride bikes, but the youngest is two and he’s obsessed,” he laughs. “He’s pretty impressive on a bike. I don’t think we’ve got much choice about what he wants to do when he’s older.”
It has taken a long time to recover but I’m back to winning ways again