On Friday Mark Cavendish made a trip to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking to see how he has inspired McLaren Special Operations (MSO) to create a brand new colour for the McLaren 12C high performance sports car.

In 2011 Mark claimed the coveted green jersey in the Tour de France riding a Specialized S-Works + McLaren Venge, a highly advanced road racing bicycle combining the technical excellence of Specialized and McLaren. He also became the first Briton in 46 years to win the World Championship last year.

In honour of that remarkable achievement, MSO, the bespoke personalisation division of McLaren Automotive, has developed a new colour for the McLaren 12C sports car inspired by the jersey worn by the points leader on each stage of the Tour de France. ‘Cavendish Green’ is a satin, almost black, finish with a subtle metallic green flake, which creates a striking and unique look for the groundbreaking 12C sports car.[IMAGE2=RIGHT]

“Through the Specialized S-Works + McLaren Venge bike, McLaren has already worked closely with Mark to great success, winning the coveted green jersey in the Tour de France,’”explained Paul Mackenzie, Head of McLaren Special Operations. “To celebrate Mark’s green jersey accolade, ‘Jersey Green spheres’ were added to the satin finish. These only become visible in direct sunlight to give a very subtle touch, inspired by Mark’s fantastic win.”

Mark visited the McLaren Technology Centre to see the results, but this was not the first time he has toured the McLaren Group’s headquarters. In 2011, he was there for the launch of the Specialized S-Works + McLaren Venge, a bicycle designed in collaboration with McLaren Applied Technologies to combine light weight and aerodynamic efficiency with enormous strength, enabling every watt of power produced by the rider’s legs to be transmitted to the road.

The Venge won its first event, ridden by Mark’s team-mate Matt Goss, and then Mark himself rode it in the Tour de France and carved his name on the sport’s history. Later that year, he became the first British rider since Tom Simpson in 1965 to win the UCI Cycling World Championships.

Like the chassis of all vehicles produced by McLaren since the introduction of the pioneering MP4-1 in 1981, at the centre of both high speed McLaren machines is carbon fibre –the frame of the Specialized S-Works + Mclaren Venge bike is made from it, as is the single-piece moulded Monocell chassis of the 12C roadcar, which weighs just 75kgs.

As in Formula 1, marginal gains are increasingly the key to success at the top level of cycling. This year McLaren Applied Technologies and Specialized created another revolutionary product, the S-Works + McLaren TT helmet. Designed with the specific intention of being the most aerodynamic cycling helmet in the world, it is the culmination of countless hours of wind tunnel testing and Computational Fluid Dynamics evaluation. Over a 53km time trial it can offer an advantage of over 20 seconds – and that, as any racing cyclist will tell you, is a huge margin.