Born and raised on the Isle of Man, Mark Cavendish became a world track champion as a teenager in 2005 and a Commonwealth Games gold medalist a year later. In 2008 he regained his world title on the track with British teammate Bradley Wiggins. After switching his focus to the more glamorous world of road cycling, Cavendish set a new record of four stage wins in the 2008 Tour de France. He won six stages of the 2009 Tour de France and the prestigious Milan-San Remo one-day classic then went on to win the green points jersey and become the winningest Tour sprinter in history. Widely regarded as the most exciting and charismatic young rider to join the sport in years, Cavendish will be the most closely watched sprinter in the pro peloton in 2013.