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Disc brake on a motorcycle

A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes.

Most commonly brakes use friction to convert kinetic energy into heat, though other methods of energy conversion may be employed. For example regenerative braking converts much of the energy to electrical energy, which may be stored for later use. Other methods convert kinetic energy into potential energy in such stored forms as pressurized air or pressurized oil. Eddy current brakes use magnetic fields to convert kinetic energy into electric current in the brake disc, fin, or rail, which is converted into heat. Still other braking methods even transform kinetic energy into different forms, for example by transferring the energy to a rotating flywheel.

Brakes are generally applied to rotating axles or wheels, but may also take other forms such as the surface of a moving fluid (flaps deployed into water or air). Some vehicles use a combination of braking mechanisms, such as drag racing cars with both wheel brakes and a parachute, or airplanes with both wheel brakes and drag flaps raised into the air during landing.

Since kinetic energy increases quadratically with velocity (Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): K=mv^2/2 ), an object moving at 10 m/s has 100 times as much energy as one of the same mass moving at 1 m/s, and consequently the theoretical braking distance, when braking at the traction limit, is 100 times as long. In practice, fast vehicles usually have significant air drag, and energy lost to air drag rises quickly with speed.

Almost all wheeled vehicles have a brake of some sort. Even baggage carts and shopping carts may have them for use on a moving ramp. Most fixed-wing aircraft are fitted with wheel brakes on the undercarriage. Some aircraft also feature air brakes designed to reduce their speed in flight. Notable examples include gliders and some World War II-era aircraft, primarily some fighter aircraft and many dive bombers of the era. These allow the aircraft to maintain a safe speed in a steep descent. The Saab B 17 dive bomber used the deployed undercarriage as an air brake.

Friction brakes on automobiles store braking heat in the drum brake or disc brake while braking then conduct it to the air gradually. When traveling downhill some vehicles can use their engines to brake.

When the brake pedal of a modern vehicle with hydraulic brakes is pushed, ultimately a piston pushes the brake pad against the brake disc which slows the wheel down. On the brake drum it is similar as the cylinder pushes the brake shoes against the drum which also slows the wheel down.

Types[link]

Brakes may be broadly described as using friction, pumping, or electromagnetics. One brake may use several principles: for example, a pump may pass fluid through an orifice to create friction:

• Frictional brakes are most common and can be divided broadly into "shoe" or "pad" brakes, using an explicit wear surface, and hydrodynamic brakes, such as parachutes, which use friction in a working fluid and do not explicitly wear.Typically the term "friction brake" is used to mean pad/shoe brakes and excludes hydrodynamic brakes, even though hydrodynamic brakes use friction.
  Friction (pad/shoe) brakes are often rotating devices with a stationary pad and a rotating wear surface. Common configurations include shoes that contract to rub on the outside of a rotating drum, such as a band brake; a rotating drum with shoes that expand to rub the inside of a drum, commonly called a "drum brake", although other drum configurations are possible; and pads that pinch a rotating disc, commonly called a "disc brake". Other brake configurations are used, but less often. For example, PCC trolley brakes include a flat shoe which is clamped to the rail with an electromagnet; the Murphy brake pinches a rotating drum, and the Ausco Lambert disc brake uses a hollow disc (two parallel discs with a structural bridge) with shoes that sit between the disc surfaces and expand laterally.

• Pumping brakes are often used where a pump is already part of the machinery. For example, an internal-combustion piston motor can have the fuel supply stopped, and then internal pumping losses of the engine create some braking. Some engines use a valve override called a Jake brake to greatly increase pumping losses. Pumping brakes can dump energy as heat, or can be regenerative brakes that recharge a pressure reservoir called a hydraulic accumulator.

• Electromagnetic brakes are likewise often used where an electric motor is already part of the machinery. For example, many hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles use the electric motor as a generator to charge electric batteries and also as a regenerative brake. Some diesel/electric railroad locomotives use the electric motors to generate electricity which is then sent to a resistor bank and dumped as heat. Some vehicles, such as some transit buses, do not already have an electric motor but use a secondary "retarder" brake that is effectively a generator with an internal short-circuit. Related types of such a brake are eddy current brakes, and electro-mechanical brakes (which actually are magnetically driven friction brakes, but nowadays are often just called “electromagnetic brakes” as well).

Characteristics[link]

Brakes are often described according to several characteristics including:

• Peak force – The peak force is the maximum decelerating effect that can be obtained. The peak force is often greater than the traction limit of the tires, in which case the brake can cause a wheel skid.
• Continuous power dissipation – Brakes typically get hot in use, and fail when the temperature gets too high. The greatest amount of power (energy per unit time) that can be dissipated through the brake without failure is the continuous power dissipation. Continuous power dissipation often depends on e.g., the temperature and speed of ambient cooling air.
• Fade – As a brake heats, it may become less effective, called brake fade. Some designs are inherently prone to fade, while other designs are relatively immune. Further, use considerations, such as cooling, often have a big effect on fade.
• Smoothness – A brake that is grabby, pulses, has chatter, or otherwise exerts varying brake force may lead to skids. For example, railroad wheels have little traction, and friction brakes without an anti-skid mechanism often lead to skids, which increases maintenance costs and leads to a "thump thump" feeling for riders inside.

• Power – Brakes are often described as "powerful" when a small human application force leads to a braking force that is higher than typical for other brakes in the same class. This notion of "powerful" does not relate to continuous power dissipation, and may be confusing in that a brake may be "powerful" and brake strongly with a gentle brake application, yet have lower (worse) peak force than a less "powerful" brake.
• Pedal feel – Brake pedal feel encompasses subjective perception of brake power output as a function of pedal travel. Pedal travel is influenced by the fluid displacement of the brake and other factors.
• Drag – Brakes have varied amount of drag in the off-brake condition depending on design of the system to accommodate total system compliance and deformation that exists under braking with ability to retract friction material from the rubbing surface in the off-brake condition.
• Durability – Friction brakes have wear surfaces that must be renewed periodically. Wear surfaces include the brake shoes or pads, and also the brake disc or drum. There may be tradeoffs, for example a wear surface that generates high peak force may also wear quickly.
• Weight – Brakes are often "added weight" in that they serve no other function. Further, brakes are often mounted on wheels, and unsprung weight can significantly hurt traction in some circumstances. "Weight" may mean the brake itself, or may include additional support structure.
• Noise – Brakes usually create some minor noise when applied, but often create squeal or grinding noises that are quite loud.

Brake boost[link]

Most modern vehicles use a vacuum assisted brake system that greatly increases the force applied to the vehicle's brakes by its operator.^[1] This additional force is supplied by the manifold vacuum generated by air flow being obstructed by the throttle on a running engine. This force is greatly reduced when the engine is running at fully open throttle, as the difference between ambient air pressure and manifold (absolute) air pressure is reduced, and therefore available vacuum is diminished. However, brakes are rarely applied at full throttle; the driver takes the right foot off the gas pedal and moves it to the brake pedal - unless left-foot braking is used.

Because of low vacuum at high RPM, reports of unintended acceleration are often accompanied by complaints of failed or weakened brakes, as the high-revving engine, having an open throttle, is unable to provide enough vacuum to power the brake booster. This problem is exacerbated in vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions as the vehicle will automatically downshift upon application of the brakes, thereby increasing the torque delivered to the driven-wheels in contact with the road surface.

Noise[link]

Brake lever on a horse-drawn hearse

Although ideally a brake would convert all the kinetic energy into heat, in practice a significant amount may be converted into acoustic energy instead, contributing to noise pollution.

For road vehicles, the noise produced varies significantly with tire construction, road surface, and the magnitude of the deceleration.^[2] Noise can be caused by different things. These are signs that there may be issues with brakes wearing out over time.

Inefficiency[link]

A significant amount of energy is always lost while braking, even with regenerative braking which is not perfectly efficient. Therefore a good metric of efficient energy use while driving is to note how much one is braking. If the majority of deceleration is from unavoidable friction instead of braking, one is squeezing out most of the service from the vehicle. Minimizing brake use is one of the fuel economy-maximizing behaviors.

While energy is always lost during a brake event, a secondary factor that influences efficiency is "off-brake drag", or drag that occurs when the brake is not intentionally actuated. After a braking event, hydraulic pressure drops in the system, allowing the brake caliper pistons to retract. However, this retraction must accommodate all compliance in the system (under pressure) as well as thermal distortion of components like the brake disc or the brake system will drag until the contact with the disc, for example, knocks the pads and pistons back from the rubbing surface. During this time, there can be significant brake drag. This brake drag can lead to significant parasitic power loss, thus impact fuel economy and vehicle performance.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up brake in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• How Stuff Works - Brakes

Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish at the 2011 UCI Road World Championships
Personal information
Full name	Mark Simon Cavendish
Nickname	Manx Missile[1]
Born	(1985-05-21) 21 May 1985 (age 27)[2] Douglas, Isle of Man
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	69 kg (150 lb)
Team information
Current team	Team Sky
Discipline	Road and Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Amateur team(s)
2004	Team Persil
Professional team(s)
2005–2006 2006–2011 2012–	Team Sparkasse T-Mobile Team Team Sky
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France Points classification (2011) 20 stages (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) Giro d'Italia 10 stages, 2 TTT (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012) Vuelta a España Points classification (2010) 3 stages, 1 TTT (2010) Single-Day Races and Classics UCI World Road Race Champion (2011) UCI Madison World Champion (2005, 2008) Milan – San Remo (2009) Grote Scheldeprijs (2007, 2008, 2011) Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne (2012)
Medal record Road bicycle racing Competitor for  Great Britain World Championships Gold 2011 Copenhagen Road race Track cycling Competitor for  Great Britain World Championships Gold 2005 Los Angeles Madison Gold 2008 Manchester Madison Competitor for  Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Gold 2006 Melbourne Scratch race
Infobox last updated on 14 May 2012

Mark Cavendish MBE (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTeam Team Sky. He rode for HTC-Highroad prior to its disbandment at the end of the 2011 season. Originally a track cyclist specialising in the madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines, he has competed on the road since 2006, rising to prominence as a sprinter. He is the 2011 Road World Champion and winner of the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

On the track Cavendish won gold in the madison at the 2005 and 2008 World Championshps, with Rob Hayles and Bradley Wiggins respectively and in the scratch race at the 2006 Commonwealth Games riding for Isle of Man.

As a road cyclist he achieved eleven wins in his first professional season, equalling the record held by Alessandro Petacchi. Cavendish has won a total 20 Tour de France stages putting him joint 6th on the all-time list with Nicolas Frantz and 10th on the all-time list of Grand Tour stage winners with 33 victories. Other notable wins include the 2009 Milan – San Remo classic and the points classification in both the 2010 Vuelta a España and the 2011 Tour de France.

Early life[link]

Cavendish was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, the son of David Cavendish also from the Isle of Man, and Adele from Yorkshire.^[3] He began riding BMX at a young age, racing at the National Sports Centre in Douglas. He said: "I was always riding a bike, getting dropped in little races." Cavendish started racing informally at 12, as a mountain-bike rider.^[4] My mum would laugh at me, and I said it was because all my mates had mountain bikes, so I asked for a mountain bike for my 13th birthday and got one. The very next day I went out and beat everyone."^[4] It was at that time that Cavendish met David Millar at a race on the Isle of Man. Cavendish said he was inspired by Millar. Cavendish worked in a bank for two years after leaving school. He concentrated on earning enough money to support himself as a full-time cyclist later on, as he attempted to turn professional.^[2]

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Mark Cavendish (right, in pink helmet) sprinting for stage 6 of the 2006 Tour of Britain against Tom Boonen (left) while riding for T-Mobile Team

Mark Cavendish began his career with the British Track Cycling team. He won gold in the madison with Rob Hayles at the 2005 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Los Angeles. They had not raced together before. They finished one lap ahead of the field to claim the gold medal, ahead of the Dutch and Belgian teams, giving Britain its fourth gold at the championships. It was Cavendish's first world champion's jersey.^[5] Cavendish also won the 2005 European championship points race. He began road racing in 2005, riding the Tour of Berlin and 2005 Tour of Britain as a trialist with Team Sparkasse.

Cavendish began 2006 with the Continental team, Team Sparkasse, a feeder squad for T-Mobile Team. In June, he won two stages and the points and sprint competitions in the Tour of Berlin.^[6] He rode for the Isle of Man on the track at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, riding the scratch race. He lapped the field with three others: Rob Hayles; Ashley Hutchinson of Australia; and James McCallum of Scotland. He then beat these in the sprint to win gold for the Isle of Man. The race time was 23m 5s, an average 51.9 km/h.^[7][8]

His success at the Tour of Berlin led to a post as a stagiaire with T-Mobile Team from August until the end of the season.^[9] His best result for T-Mobile in 2006 was in the Tour of Britain where he came second three times and won the points classification. It brought a full professional contract for 2007 and 2008.^[10]

2007[link]

Cavendish's breakthrough came at the 2007 Grote Scheldeprijs race in Belgium, which he won overall.^[12] He went on to win stages at the Four Days of Dunkirk^[13][14] and the 2007 Volta a Catalunya^[15][16] and that brought selection for the 2007 Tour de France. He crashed in stages 1 and 2.^[17][18] and abandoned on stage 8 as the race reached the Alps, having taken two top-ten placings but unhappy not to have had a top-five placing.^[19] His debut season continued moving on to 10 stage wins, one behind Alessandro Petacchi's record 11 for a début season.^[20] Cavendish took his 11th win in early October—the Circuit Franco-Belge—to equal Petacchi's record.^[21] Among the wins were three in UCI ProTour events, the two in the Volta a Catalunya and one in the 2007 Eneco Tour.^[22]

2008[link]

Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish on their way to becoming the 2008 world madison champions in Manchester

In 2008, Cavendish returned to the track, winning the Madison 2008 Track World Championships in Manchester with Bradley Wiggins, as Great Britain topped the medal table.^[23][24]

On the road, Cavendish won his first stages of a grand tour, by picking two victories in the 2008 Giro d'Italia.^[25] Cavendish won four further stages in the 2008 Tour de France, his first coming in stage 5^[26] from Cholet to Châteauroux.^[27] He won again on stage 8,^[28] stage 12^[29] and stage 13,^[30] making him the first British rider to collect four stages in a single Tour.^[31] Overnight, at the age of just 22, he became the fourth most successful British professional in history.^[32] After stage 14, Cavendish abandoned the Tour to concentrate on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.^[33] He and Team Columbia manager^[34] Bob Stapleton agreed that riding the Alps was a risk to his hopes.^[35] But Cavendish, with Bradley Wiggins, failed to win a medal, finishing joint eighth in the madison. He was the only British track cyclist not to win a medal.^[36] Cavendish was left frustrated and the friends did not speak for months.^[37] Following the Olympics, Cavendish remained angry with British Cycling for giving insufficient attention to the madison, though Chris Boardman stated that Cavendish's professional commitments also interfered with his build up to the Olympics. In November, Cavendish revealed that he had no further plans to return to track cycling.^[38]

The rest of his season was successful, with a total of eleven further race wins, including three each at the 2008 Tour of Ireland^[39][40][41] which he abandoned on the final day, and the 2008 Tour of Missouri,^[42][43][44] winning his only points classification of the season at the latter. At the 2008 Tour de Romandie, Cavendish won the prologue time-trial, beating compatriot Bradley Wiggins and emphasising his short-distance time-trial abilities.^[45]

2009[link]

Maarten Wynants and Mark Cavendish at the 2009 Gent–Wevelgem

Cavendish's 2009 season began at the 2009 Tour of Qatar, where he renewed his rivalry with Tom Boonen.^[46] Boonen won the race and one stage, though Cavendish took two stages; he also won two stages at the 2009 Tour of California, again beating Boonen in the sprint finishes.^[47] The Tour of California also saw Cavendish win his first points of classification of the 2009 season.^[48] Cavendish was a surprise inclusion in the British squad for the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, where he competed in the scratch race and the madison, failing to pick-up medals in either.^[49] He took up the European season at Tirreno–Adriatico, the Italian one-week stage race, where he won one stage.^[50] He then entered his first classic race, 2009 Milan – San Remo, and, after a week of uncharacteristically humble pre-race statements, rode effectively over the climbs that his rivals had said made this race impossible for him to win – and then tracked down Heinrich Haussler in the last 200 meters to narrowly win the sprint and the race, Cavendish's first victory in a race known as one of the five monuments of cycling.^[51]

Cavendish repeated his two-stage victory at the Three Days of De Panne from 2008, also winning the points classification.^[52] At the start of the 2009 Giro d'Italia Team Columbia-High Road won the Team Time Trial and he was given the Maglia Rosa leaders jersey, becoming the first British rider to ever wear it.^[53] The first 2 road stages however were fruitless for Cavendish, who was beaten to the line by Alessandro Petacchi in the first stage and was caught behind a crash and failed to make it back for the sprint the next day. Cavendish soon asserted his sprinting dominance on the race however, gaining 3 stage wins before abandoning following stage 13, citing a need to rest for beginning preparations for the Tour de France. He continued his preparation by racing the 2009 Tour de Suisse where he won stage 3^[54] and stage 6.^[55][56]

George Hincapie and Mark Cavendish in the green jersey during stage 3 of the 2009 Tour de France

During the season, Cavendish developed a remarkable partnership with his leadout man, Mark Renshaw. Continuing his run of success, Cavendish won stage 2,^[57] stage 3,^[58] stage 10,^[59] stage 11,^[60] stage 19^[61] and stage 21^[62] of the 2009 Tour de France. In winning the third stage he became the first Briton to hold the green jersey for two days in a row.^[63] Cavendish's win on stage 11 enabled him to reclaim the green jersey from rival Thor Hushovd, and equalled Barry Hoban's British record of eight stage wins.^[64] Winning stage 19, Cavendish set a new record for Tour de France stage wins by a British rider.^[65] In winning the last stage, he led home a remarkable 1–2 for his team, when his team mate and leadout man, Mark Renshaw, finished second on the Champs-Élysées.^[62]

Following on from the Tour de France, Cavendish won the Sparkassen Giro Bochum and took part in the 2009 Tour of Ireland, winning stage two.^[66] On 7 September he recorded the 50th win of his road racing career in a sprint finish in the opening stage of the 2009 Tour of Missouri.^[67] Before the race he confirmed he will remain with Team Columbia-HTC in 2010, ending speculation linking him with a move to newly created British team, Team Sky.^[67] Cavendish retained the leader's jersey by sprinting to victory on stage two but finished 5th on stage 3, losing the overall lead to Thor Hushovd,^[68] and was forced to withdraw from the race before stage four due to a lung infection.^[69] Although selected for the British team for the Men's Road Race at the 2009 UCI Road World Championships, his illness prevented him from taking part.^[70]

2010[link]

Following a dental problem, Cavendish delayed the start of his 2010 season until the 2010 Ruta del Sol, in mid-February.^[71] Following the lay off his form was poor, and he failed to defend his victory at the 2010 Milan – San Remo, coming in six minutes down in 89th place.^[72] Cavendish's pre-season goals were to win the green jersey in the Tour de France and win the Road Race at the 2010 World Championships.^[73] Cavendish also said that he would race in the 2010 Tour of Flanders but said he wouldn't win it, stating that the Tour of Flanders requires training, but he sees himself winning it in the future.^[74]

Mark Cavendish celebrates winning stage 1 of the 2010 Tour of California

Following a poor start to the season, Cavendish found form at the 2010 Volta a Catalunya, finishing seventh in the time-trial and winning stage 2.^[75] His team withdrew Cavendish from the 2010 Tour de Romandie after he made an offensive gesture after winning the second stage.^[76][77] Missing the 2010 Giro d'Italia, Cavendish instead chose to compete at the 2010 Tour of California starting on 16 May, where he won stage 1, for only his third victory of the season.^[78] On 15 June Cavendish crashed heavily whilst sprinting in the closing metres of the stage 4 of the 2010 Tour de Suisse, appearing to veer off line and bring down Heinrich Haussler and several other riders, raising criticism from other teams regarding his riding style.^[79] Cavendish entered the 2010 Tour de France. During stage 1, Cavendish crashed out of the final sprint, with just under 3 km (1.9 mi) remaining in the stage. Overhead camera footage showed Cavendish failing to negotiate a corner after entering too fast and turning too late. He then leaned his shoulder into a fellow rider as he travelled away from the apex.^[80][81][82] Cavendish returned to form by winning the stage 5,^[83] stage 6,^[84] stage 11,^[85] stage 18^[86] and stage 20,^[87] bringing his career total to 15 stage wins.^[88] He ended up second in the points classification, 11 points behind Alessandro Petacchi.^[89] Cavendish's next race was the 2010 Vuelta a España, in which his team won the team time trial with Cavendish crossing the line first taking the leader's jersey.^[90] He could only place second or third on the subsequent sprint stages, but returned to form later in the race winning stage 12,^[91] stage 13,^[92] stage 18^[93] and the points classification.^[94]

2011[link]

Cavendish had a slow start to 2011 failing to win a race until late February when he won the stage 6 of the 2011 Tour of Oman.^[95] He continued to race and came to his second victory of the season in the 2011 Grote Scheldeprijs. His third win of the Grote Scheldeprijs, following his previous triumphs in 2007 and 2008, brought him to the record tied with Piet Oellibrandt.^[96] At the 2011 Paris–Roubaix he failed to finish.^[97] He came second in the second stage of the 2011 Giro d'Italia in contentious circumstances (Cavendish gestured at winner Alessandro Petacchi for appearing to move across his path in the final sprint), to take the pink jersey into stage 3. Cavendish got his first grand tour victory of the year by winning stage 10 of the Giro, shrugging off claims that he had illegally held on to his team car when climbing Mount Etna on stage 9.^[98] He won his second Giro victory of 2011 on stage 12 before leaving the race.^[99] On 11 June it was announced that Mark Cavendish was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours.^[100][101]

Cavendish in the green jersey, behind his HTC-Highroad colleagues, is led out to victory on stage 15 of the 2011 Tour de France

Cavendish won stage 5,^[102] stage 7,^[103] stage 11,^[104] stage 15^[105] and stage 21 of the 2011 Tour de France—bringing his total to 20 career Tour de France stage wins,^[106][107] and the first person ever to win the final stage three years in succession. Even though he was docked 20 points for finishing outside the time limit after stage 18^[108] and again after stage 19.^[109] Cavendish went on to win the points classification; in doing so, he became the first British cyclist to ever win the maillot vert.^[110][111] Over the following weeks Cavendish took part in the post-Tour Criteriums. He won the Stiphout Criterium in The Netherlands, beating Andy Schleck and Frank Schleck to the line,^[112] then he won the Profcriterium Wolvertem-Meise^[113] and following that he won the Wateringse Wielerdag.^[114] On 4 August Cavendish's team HTC-Highroad announced that they would fold at the end of the season,^[115] fuelling speculation of Cavendish moving to Team Sky.^[116] On 14 August, Cavendish won the London–Surrey Cycle Classic; racing for Team Great Britain, it was the official test event for the 2012 Summer Olympics road race and part of the London Prepares series.^[117] Less than a week later, Cavendish started the 2011 Vuelta a España, but abandoned during stage 4 due to the searing heat.^[118] After withdrawing from the Vuelta Cavendish was allowed to be a late addition for the line up of the 2011 Tour of Britain.^[119] Cavendish won stage 1 in Dumfries to take the leader's jersey at that point in the race,^[120] and the final stage in London.^[121]

Matthew Goss, Mark Cavendish and André Greipel on the podium after the road race at the 2011 UCI Road World Championships

At the end of September Cavendish went to the 2011 UCI Road World Championships in Copenhagen taking part in the road race with an eight-strong British team. After the team controlled the whole race it came down to a sprint finish with Cavendish crossing the line in first place taking the Rainbow jersey. He became the second British World Champion after Tom Simpson in 1965.^[122][123] After much speculation, it was announced Cavendish would join Team Sky for the 2012 season.^[124] He will be joined by his HTC-Highroad teammate Austrian Bernhard Eisel.^[125]

In November Cavendish made a cameo return to the track, competing in the Revolution event at the Manchester Velodrome. He won the scratch race, his first win on the track of any kind since 2008.^[126] He announced that he was starting his training for the 2012 season earlier than in previous years, with the aim of being more competitive in the Classics.^[127] Cavendish won the 2011 Most Inspirational Sportsman of the Year Award at the Jaguar Academy of Sport Annual Awards at The Savoy Hotel on 27 November.^[128] In December Cavendish became the winner of the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award with 169,152 (49.47%) of the votes cast.^[129]

2012[link]

Cavendish in the rainbow jersey riding for Team Sky at the 2012 Giro d'Italia

Cavendish began his 2012 season at the 2012 Tour of Qatar, where after struggling with illness, he won stage 3 to take his first victory for Team Sky.^[130] He also won stage 5 later in the week, moving back into the top ten of the overall classification.^[131] He finished the race in sixth place, despite crashing on the final stage.^[132] Although he did not win any stages at the 2012 Tour of Oman, having suffered an injury in the first stage, he returned to win the 2012 Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne.^[133] Cavendish targeted a second victory in 2012 Milan – San Remo in March, but was dropped on Le Manie, 100 km (62 mi) from the finish.^[134] He did not manage to finish high up in any of the other 2012 classics. In the 2012 Tour de Romandie, Cavendish showed his ability in short time trials by finishing third in the prologue, but did not take any stage wins. A week later Cavendish took his season victories to 5 by winning the sprint on stage 2 of the 2012 Giro d'Italia. The following day, he was again in contention for victory on stage 3, but in the sprint Roberto Ferrari aggressively switched lanes, clipping Cavendish and sending the him to the ground and causing the whole field to stack up behind. Among other riders to fall was overall leader Taylor Phinney. Cavendish later tweeted that Ferrari should be "ashamed to take out Pink, Red & World Champ jerseys".^[135] He recovered from minor injuries to win stage 5^[136] and stage 13.^[137] Cavendish completed the Giro, but lost the points classification to Joaquim Rodríguez by a single point. He did win the minor Azzurri d'Italia and stage combativeness classifications. ^[138]

Riding style[link]

Cavendish has been compared to an athletics sprinter pushing on the starting blocks.^[139] At the 2009 Tour de France the points that he gained in the intermediate sprint in stage 14 were removed after he was judged to have driven Thor Hushovd too close to barriers on the course.^[140] After stage 19 he said that he was "embarrassed" for his comments about "deserving" green jersey wearer Hushovd.^[65] After stage four of the 2010 Tour of Switzerland, Cavendish was found to be at fault for a crash involving himself and Heinrich Haussler during the end of stage sprint.^[141] The crash caused Haussler, Arnaud Coyot and Lloyd Mondory to quit the race because of their injuries, though Cavendish was able to continue.^[142] Cavendish received a thirty second penalty and a CHF200 fine. The start of the next stage was disrupted by fellow riders protesting at Cavendish's riding and style, and what they claimed was a lack of respect from Cavendish.^[142]

Personality[link]

Mark Cavendish at the 2010 Tour of California with his autobiography Boy Racer

Cavendish has been described as confident, even arrogant. In 2008 he said:

In June 2009 his autobiography, Boy Racer, which covered his career to date, was published.^[3] At a press conference in London ahead of the 2009 Tour de France, Cavendish explained that the book was "more a biography of last year's Tour stage wins" than an autobiography.^[143] His "biggest motivation for writing it had been to explain himself better", to counter the way he came across during interviews immediately after races.^[143]

Personal life[link]

He lives on the Isle of Man and has a training base in Quarrata, Tuscany, Italy.^[144][145] Cavendish is in a relationship with former glamour model and Page Three girl Peta Todd.^{[146][146][147]} On 3 April 2012, Cavendish announced the birth of their daughter, Delilah Grace Cavendish.^[148]

Career highlights[link]

References[link]