From best in the world, to 'nothing', and back…

This is a documentary about a cyclist, but not about cycling. It's a documentary about an elite athlete rising to the top of their game, fighting their way back to the top, and demonstrating the resilience required for one of sports greatest comebacks.

I grew up on the Isle of Man, where Mark Cavendish is a local hero: a sporting legend who makes the entire island proud. He has always been a huge inspiration to me. After all, we both grew up on the Isle of Man, both dealt with chronic health conditions, and both dealt with people doubting us as a result of those conditions. I had been looking forward to watching this documentary since it was announced, but I was never expecting such an emotional, heartfelt and insightful look into the psychology of an elite athlete.

Cavendish is known for his strength and incredible sprinting speed. Dubbed the Manx Missile due to his ability to launch a sprint of 70km/h+ after a gruelling ride of over 150km, he has won countless Grand Tour stages, World and National Championships, Commonwealth Games and Island Games, plus an Olympic silver medal.

The documentary charts his rise to the top, mixing archive footage of a smiley confident youngster with a montage of winning sprints and jubilant celebrations. It reached a point where winning was no longer a question: everyone (including himself) expected incredibly high standards. During this time Cavendish described himself as a 'winning machine', with his entire identity centred around being the best.

In 2017 Cavendish was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus and faced a series of serious crashes which had huge physical and mental impacts, ruling him out of numerous races. The documentary mainly focuses on the aftermath of these incidents and the impact that going from being the 'winning machine' to having people writing him off as a cyclist had on him and his family. It's particularly interesting seeing the darker side of perfectionism being shown here, with Cavendish asking the poignant question of 'how do you go from being the best in the world to nothing?'

Cavendish and his wife Peta have been incredibly generous in opening up about the clinical depression that Mark faced during his difficult times recovering from the virus and his injuries, and his fight to show the doubters he could still succeed. With input from Cavendish's sport psychologist, Dr David Spindler, we see how Mark was able to regain more balance in his life by opening up his identity to include husband, father, friend, and 'Cav' rather than just 'Cav the cyclist and winner'.

You can also see the realisation that self-belief in your own ability can get you so far, but having people around you who believe in you just as much can take you even further. I challenge anyone watching this documentary not to feel inspired as you watch an incredible sporting comeback as Cavendish equals Eddy Merckx's record of 34 Tour de France stage wins silencing his doubters.

Cavendish has always been someone who has inspired people to keep pushing, never let anyone write you off. But Never Enough shows that this is only possible through opening up to the love and support of those around you. This is a documentary which will be of interest to anyone with an interest in sports psychology, performance in elite athletes, and those who simply love a good comeback story.

- Reviewed by Dr Ashleigh Johnstone, Lecturer in Psychology at Arden University.