Could Mark Cavendish enter 24 Hours of Le Mans race entry with legend Tom Kristensen as his ‘teacher’? - 'It's official'

But could we see the two joining forces in a car together sometime soon? They certainly think so.

The pair were speaking to TNT Sports at the 2026 edition of the famous race, with Cavendish named the official race starter.

And Kristensen posed the question everyone was thinking on Sunday, asking Cavendish: "When are we seeing you in a car competitively?"

Cavendish expressed his interest, but with a caveat. He said: "I'd love it. If I get in a car, can you be my teacher?"

And Kristensen put the finishing touches on the verbal agreement: "Yeah, it's official."

Cavendish would not be the first cyclist to swap a bike for a car, with Chris Hoy competing in the 2016 Le Mans, with his Algarve Pro Racing team finishing 17th overall.

Two-time Tour de France winner Cavendish is a recent fan of Le Mans, having attended his first race last year.

And Kristensen is arguably the race's biggest name, having won it a record nine times, six of which were consecutive.

Cavendish was the official starter for the 94th edition of Le Mans, live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, waving the flag as the 62 cars began their 24-hour odyssey to write themselves into the history books.

The 41-year-old could be seen holding back tears as he began the race, describing it later as an "emotional" moment.

"The names of people who have started the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it's a list of greats," he explained. "I only came for my first time here last year, and to think I'm back as a starter...

"But I was stood on the grid when all the teams had gone and turning round with all the cars lined up, I started to cry. I know how privileged I was to be in that position, to see what people do. I was like a kid, it was the most amazing experience."

Racing in Le Mans is about speed, but it's also about endurance.

Maintaining concentration over the day-long race is critical to success, and it bears similarities to the long-distance cycling events Cavendish is used to.

Battling physical tiredness and mental fatigue is one of a cyclist's main jobs across the multi-week races, something Cavendish has seen first-hand with the Le Mans drivers.

"Everyone's tired," he outlined. "And what sets you apart is the ability to think quickly, the ability to react when you're tired, because you have the physical stress of driving the whole night here, or doing a Tour de France stage.

"But there's the mental stress of concentration. That's the thing a normal person can't see.

"And the people who do the best in the world are able to focus through that, and do the job at hand. I was watching, and it said four hours to go, and I just felt sorry for them, because you know how tired they're going to be, because they're just lapping, lapping, lapping.

"It just builds up. It's like an opera. You have to know the start, and you have to watch kind of nothing for a long time to understand what's going to happen in the final."

Kristensen called the link between endurance racing and cycling "fantastic".

"[Cavendish] is looking for the apex on the downhill, and the right gap when he gets there for these amazing sprints," he said. "And bridging these sports, it's what it's all about."

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