Sir Mark Cavendish has spoken of the pride he has in the Manx sporting community after picking up two prestigious honours at the Isle of Man Sports Awards last week.

The Tour de France’s most prolific stage winner was named Sportsman of the Year for a 11th time in addition to collecting the Lifetime Achievement award at Thursday’s annual ceremony in the Villa Marina’s Royal Hall.

Cavendish, who brought the curtain down on a glittering professional cycling that spanned more than two decades at the end of 2024, stated how proud he was of the evening’s other award winners and the island’s sports community as a whole.

The 39-year-old Laxey resident said: ‘You come to a night like this and, like every year, you realise what the island produces in sport.

‘It's pretty special.

‘We're a population of 85,000 people, and yet we do what we do on the world stage in sport.

‘It shows the commitment of the of the athletes, the people and overall the love of sport we have as a nation.

‘It also shows the commitment from the government through Isle of Man Sport and the facilities we have available here help us massively punch above our weight.

‘I'm very, very proud to be part of that.’

It was also confirmed on stage that the NSC perimeter road will now be known as the Sir Mark Cavendish Raceway going forward.

Speaking about the move, Sir Mark said: 'It's very, very nice. It's the place that I not only started to race at, but where I also met to go on club runs.

'Every single kid that steps their leg over a bicycle here knows it's possible to win at the biggest stage in in the world.'

Equestrian star Yasmin Ingham was named Sportswoman of the Year after being selected for last year's Olympics in Paris.

After picking up the award for a fifth time, the 27 year old from Greeba echoed Sir Mark's sentiments.

She said: 'It's an incredible honour to be awarded Sportswoman of the Year.

‘I feel so proud to come from the Isle of Man and its huge amount of talent.

‘So I feel very honoured to be receiving this award alongside so many other incredible athletes this evening.

‘It’s so important to me, to know that I've got the backing of all my family and friends and everybody that is from the Isle of Man.

‘It's super important and such a amazing feeling to have everyone here tonight as well to celebrate such amazing success from the Isle of Man sports people.’

Looking ahead to her plans for the rest of the year and beyond, Ingham added: ‘The long-term goal now is building up towards the LA Olympics in a few years’ time.

‘So we'll be working really hard towards that. In the immediate future, over the next few months, I'm looking to compete at my very first Badminton International Horse Trials, which is at the top level of the sport.

‘I've never competed there before so I’m super excited for that.

‘I’ll then be aiming for a spot at the European Championships, which are in September at Blenheim Palace in Great Britain.’