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"Fastest man on two wheels" just got faster as Mark Cavendish swaps Lycra for leathers (+ video)

Sprinter channels his Isle of Man roots on racing motorbike

Mark Cavendish hasn't had the best of years – his solitary stage win in July's Tour de France was his lowest return since his debut in the race in 2007 – but a couple of pictures posted to Facebook this week show that the self-styled "fastest man on two wheels" has just got faster.

The bike he's riding has an engine, but this isn't anything to do with so-called mechanical doping – Cavendish, known to be a fan of fast cars, is on a motorbike as befits a native of the island in the Irish Sea that is home to the Isle of Man TT.

Mechanical doping - the pro cycling story that won't go away

The blue skies – not to mention Table Mountain in the background – are a bit of a giveaway that Cavendish was in rather sunnier climes at the Killarney Circuit in Cape Town, South Africa, where he has been on a training camp with his new team.

When I grow up, I want to Cal Crutchlow... Got my knee down & everything!

Posted by Mark Cavendish on Tuesday, 1 December 2015

The ride was arranged by former elite cyclist Jonny Towers, now managing director of trade distributor Moto Direct's Cycling Division; the company is official clothing partner to the Isle of Man CycleFest, which will coincide next year with the island hosting a round of the Tour Series.

Thanks to Jonny Towers for getting me on my first race bike yesterday. Absolutely loved it!

Posted by Mark Cavendish on Tuesday, 1 December 2015

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Afterwards, Towers tweeted: "Turns out the @MarkCavendish can ride a Moto pretty fast too ... First time on a track and only 3 secs off lap record."

Cavendish has ridden part of the TT course before, on a road bike for a downhill challenge in this video produced for Jaguar in 2013.

In September fellow Manxman and former Team Sky colleague Peter Kennaugh set a new course record for cycling the full TT course, breaking the one set 22 years earlier by Chris Boardman.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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3 comments

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Gkam84 | 8 years ago
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Doesn't mention Superbike.....but it looks more like a Moto 3, so he'd be catching Danny Kent on his Leopard Honda 

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Podc replied to Gkam84 | 8 years ago
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Gkam84 wrote:

Doesn't mention Superbike.....but it looks more like a Moto 3, so he'd be catching Danny Kent on his Leopard Honda 

 

No he won't yes

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Airzound | 8 years ago
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Doesn't look like a Superbike!

 

I don't think he'll catch Valentino Rossi just yet.

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