In recognition of his outstanding achievements over the year, Manx sprinter Mark Cavendish has been awarded the F T Bidlake Memorial Trophy for 2011. The award is presented annually by the Bidlake Memorial Trust committee for the most outstanding performance by a cyclist or contribution to cycling in the UK. The list of previous recipients is like a who’s who of the UK cycling scene over the last 75 years and includes Tom Simpson, Reg Harris, Beryl Burton, Alex Moulton, Hugh Porter, Graham Obree, Sean Yates, Nicole Cooke, Chris Boardman and Dave Brailsford.
Graham Thompson, Secretary and Treasurer of the Trust, said; “In a year when he won five stages of the Tour de France, was the first Briton to win the Tour’s Green Jersey, won the UCI Road World Championships and was appointed an MBE, Mark Cavendish was the clear winner for the 2011 Award.”
The award is named after the great tricyclist, writer and administrator Frederick Thomas Bidlake. Affectionately known as ‘Biddy’, he was a leading figure in the British cycling world for two generations. In later life he represented cyclists on many bodies including the Advisory Body of the Ministry of Transport in the 1920’s, served as Vice-President of the Cyclists Touring Club, was President of the Road Records Association and is generally considered to be the father of time trialling.
