A PERFORMANCE PARTNERSHIP
Forged by performance: Aston Martin announces record-breaking cyclist Sir Mark Cavendish as its first Global High-Performance Ambassador. Recognising a shared passion for performance, Aston Martin has partnered with Cavendish to deliver insight from the world of high-performance sport.
Always believe. The mantra that has propelled Sir Mark Cavendish to the top of international cycling, delivering a record-breaking 35 stage wins at the Tour de France. More than any other athlete in the history of the sport.
It’s a motto that fits perfectly with Cavendish’s role as Aston Martin’s first-ever Global High-Performance Ambassador.
As a life-long car enthusiast, it’s a dream come true for the 39-year old Manxman. For Aston Martin, it’s an opportunity to tap into the knowledge of one of the world’s most successful athletes, embedding him in the feedback loop that flows between the British ultra-luxury performance brand and the highest levels of international sport. It also represents the latest chapter in Aston Martin’s long association with cycling, which stretches back to the very roots of the company.
Known as the Manx Missile, Cavendish is widely recognised as the greatest sprint cyclist of all time. He remains at the top of the sport, nearly two decades after his professional-level debut in 2005. That year, he scooped gold in the Madison event and helped to propel Great Britain’s team to the top of the medals table in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships. He has gone on to become a UCI Road Race World Champion, an Olympic medallist and the first British rider to win the Tour de France points classification.
Aston Martin is a brand forged by the pursuit of performance. Our very first car, dubbed the Coal Scuttle, won a gold award on its debut outing in the 1919 London to Edinburgh Trial. Grand Prix racing followed in the early 1920s, outright victory at Le Mans in the 1950s, GT racing dominance in the 2000s and a return to Formula 1® in 2021. The desire to compete. The urge to be the best. It’s in our blood.
This insatiable thirst for success has driven Cavendish from an early age too. He began in BMX racing, joining his local club on the Isle of Man at the age of nine. At times, he’s faced challenges. Coming back from illness or injury to break yet more records. Always pushing. Always believing.
Cycling has a longstanding synergy with motorsport. Like many of the early motoring pioneers, Aston Martin’s founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford were keen cyclists. Martin joined London’s historic Bath Road Cycling club in 1902, followed by Bamford in 1911. The pair became friends through the mutual exhilaration for speed on two wheels and went into business together in 1913. This shared passion was celebrated 110 years later, when in 2023 Aston Martin and J.Laverack united to pioneer the world’s most bespoke, advanced and meticulously engineered road bicycle.
Then as now, it was all about harnessing technology to deliver the best performance. Modern cycling shares much of its lightweight composite materials technology with Formula 1®, for instance, not to mention aerodynamic research that helps to minimise drag. There are also parallels in the human performance, with physical fitness paramount in both disciplines, and most Formula 1® drivers incorporating cycling into their training routine.
Aston Martin’s experience in Formula 1® reinforces our desire to challenge the limits of performance.
This influence can be seen in cars like the Aston Martin DBX707. A true supercar in SUV form, which combines sumptuous luxury with sports car reflexes and a top speed of 193 mph.
Cavendish recently took delivery of a DBX707 at his home on the Isle of Man. Elegantly finished in Photon Lime, it reflects both Aston Martin’s racing heritage and Cavendish’s status as a two-time winner of the coveted green jersey in the Tour de France. It’s even been fitted with a bike rack.
In his new role, Cavendish will expand Aston Martin’s presence in top-level international sports, building on our high-performance culture and representing the brand at key events. Above all, he brings a fiercely determined spirit that matches our own. The ceaseless pursuit of excellence. The drive to be the best.