Mark Cavendish on His Battle with Depression: The "Empty" Years and Comeback of the World's Greatest Sprinter
35 Tour de France stage wins. Mark Cavendish, one of the greatest sprinters in history.
Did you know that this rider, who piled up victories with overwhelming speed, became "empty" from 2017 onwards?
The start of the slump: 2017–2019 (the Team Dimension Data years)
Cavendish moved to Dimension Data in 2016 and won four stages at that year's Tour de France,
still riding with the momentum of his best years.
But in April 2017 he was infected with Epstein-Barr virus and began to suffer chronic fatigue.
2017
He won a stage at the Abu Dhabi Tour,
but crashed out of the Tour de France on stage 4 after contact with Peter Sagan, breaking his shoulder blade. From then on his results plummeted.
2018
He won stage 3 of the Dubai Tour (his last win of this period).
Then came a series of crashes (concussion at the Abu Dhabi Tour, broken ribs at Tirreno–Adriatico,
a big crash at Milan–San Remo), and at the Tour de France he was eliminated outside the time limit on stage 11.
In August 2018 Epstein-Barr virus was detected again and he was forced to take a complete break.
That August he was diagnosed with clinical depression.
2019
A season without a single win.
Team principal Doug Ryder left Cavendish out of the Tour de France squad, overruling sports director Rolf Aldag.
Cavendish was deeply hurt ("I had timed my peak perfectly"), and his relationship with the team broke down for good.
He has described this period as going "from the best in the world to the worst overnight".
His body wouldn't respond, yet people around him kept telling him to just push through and come back, and he was driven into a corner mentally.
2. The symptoms of depression and the impact on his family
In his own words:
"I didn't have anything. I didn't want anything. I didn't want to do anything. I didn't feel anything.
I was just empty. A feeling of worthlessness. I had lost the will to live as a person, as a father, as a friend, as a husband."
A man who had genuinely believed depression was an excuse that you could snap out of had fallen into that darkness himself.
His wife, Peta Todd, looks back: "He wasn't really himself back then."
They argued more over small things, and at times she didn't even know where he was.
It put a huge strain on the family.
3. A dangerous state, and the first steps to recovery
From late 2018 into 2019 things became even more serious.
Doctor Helge Riepenhof thought that quitting cycling might be the only path to recovery, and even considered hospitalisation.
The team brought in psychologist David Spindler.
Spindler judged that the risk of self-harm or suicide was high,
and made Cavendish promise to always contact him before doing anything.
Cavendish chose not to use medication,
and worked step by step towards recovery with professional support from doctors, therapists and cognitive neuroscientists.
Spindler trained with him, riding alongside on a scooter and listening,
and helped him open up by reminding him of the sense of freedom he had felt riding his bike as a boy.
4. Changing teams, and the road to recovery (2020–2021)
2020: Bahrain-McLaren
He left Dimension Data for Bahrain-McLaren, led by Rod Ellingworth.
But partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he got no results at all.
He wasn't picked for the Tour de France, and after Gent–Wevelgem he was in tears,
so low that he said it might be the last race of his career.
2021: Back to Deceuninck–Quick-Step
With many teams giving up on him, Patrick Lefevere's Quick-Step
took him on for the minimum salary (about €40,000) plus sponsorship he brought himself.
That proved to be the turning point.
In 2021 he took his first win in three years at the Tour of Turkey,
then won four stages at the Tour de France: stages 4, 6, 10 and 13.
He equalled Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins and also took the points jersey (maillot vert) in a stunning comeback.
What brought him back
These are the points Cavendish keeps coming back to:
1. "Don't keep it to yourself"
He realised that talking is the most important thing of all.
2. His family
The time he spent with his family during the COVID-19 lockdown was a huge support.
He realised that "cycling isn't the most important thing in life".
3. "Never give up hope"
"Depression can happen to anyone. It's not about being strong or weak. It's a chemical illness."
"Wherever you are, keep hoping, and surround yourself with good people."
4. Rebuilding his identity
Accepting himself not just as "Cav the winner" but as a husband, a father and a friend.
Finally
Even the world's top athletes can suffer from depression.
It isn't weakness; it's an illness.
And recovery is possible.
Cavendish's story isn't just a sporting success story.
It's the record of a person who went through darkness and found the light again.
If you feel "empty" right now, try to remember his words, even just a little:
"You are not alone."
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