Just a few stages into the Tour de France and we’re already looking ahead to August. Netflix has announced that on August 2, just ten days after the tour concludes, they’ll be releasing a documentary film about Mark Cavendish’s career.
Mark Cavendish: Never Enough is a raw look at Cavendish’s highs, lows, and his unforgettable comeback. Netflix describes it as “an uplifting profile in resilience and self-belief that reveals the inside story of one of the most inspiring and unexpected comebacks in sporting history.”
Cavendish, 38, is a sprinter. And after his performance at the Tour de France in 2021, winning four stages, The Guardian reported that Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, called Cavendish “the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour and of cycling.”
In collaboration with Pitch Productions, the film was directed by Alex Kiehl and produced by David Tryhorn (Pelé, The Figo Affair). Netflix says the film production had exclusive access to Cavendish, his wife Peta, his teammates, and his coaches.
According to Televisual, David Tryhorn said, “Mark approached this documentary just as he approached his career: he held nothing back. His authenticity and honesty are captivating and will ensure that this film connects with audiences far beyond sport’s normal constituency.”
Pitch’s chief operating officer Jonathan Rogers said, “When Mark first approached us about telling his story in 2020 he was emerging from one of the most difficult periods of his life. Back then, he was looking to remind the public of his glory days, not realizing the best was yet to come.
BikeRadar explains that in 2016 Cavendish needed just four stage wins at the Tour de France to equal Eddy Mercx’s record of 34-stage wins, but instead, Cavendish went through five years of illness, injury and depression.
Then, the 2021 Tour de France saw Cavendish equal Merckx’s 34 wins. When he was not selected for the tour in 2022, it became clear that this year’s edition of the race would be the last opportunity he would have to claim the record.
All Cav all the time
The Manx Missile will also be one of the stars in Netflix’s second installment of their series, Tour de France: Unchained. The eight teams that will be chronicled in round two include, Jumbo-Visma, EF Education-EasyPost, Soudal-QuickStep, Ineos Grenadiers, Groupama-FDJ, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Bora-Hansgrohe and AG2R Citroën.
Crews are already filming the racing and the drama, with an all access pass to the eight teams signed on. The second season of Unchained is set to be released in the summer of 2024, and we’re already counting down the days.
