Summary: Full Title and Name of a Cycling Legend, Infilled with Names of Local Children
Size: 30m x 10m
Client: Isle of Man Government / National Sports Centre
Design: In Collaboration With Mr Pete Lewis
Project Background & Brief
When the Isle of Man Government renamed a local raceway in honour of Sir Mark Cavendish, they wanted more than a plaque. They wanted something permanent and bold, installed in the exact spot where Tour de France record breaker first fell in love with cycling; and they wanted the local community built into it, not just watching from the sidelines.
The brief called for a bold, lasting tribute, in the exact place Sir Cavendish grew a passion for cycling; one that could be permanently installed outdoors and involve the local community.
Thermmark delivered a bespoke thermoplastic mural celebrating the cycling legend’s achievements and connection to the Isle of Man. The mural was designed in Adobe Illustrator by Pete Lewis, a designer based in London, Thermmark prepared the design for CAD and manufacturing, and installed the whole design, a custom finish line, and podium design in two weeks, ready in time for the official unveiling ceremony.
Our Solution
The final mural featured ‘SIR MARK CAVENDISH RACEWAY’ in large, custom-cut thermoplastic lettering. Inside each letter were names of local schoolchildren (hand drawn or written by each child!), helping to add a meaningful, community-driven touch to the design. Mark himself was keen to make sure that as many Manx children as possible were involved and felt included in the whole project.
Working closely with various teams and representatives, our team handled many stages of the project:
- Design: Converting Pete’s Illustrator files into production-ready vector paths suitable for thermoplastic manufacture, accurate to around 5mm.
- Manufacture: Preformed thermoplastic (a blend of resin, glass beads, pigment and binder) extruded into sheet, then precision cut on our in-house waterjet equipment.
- Installation: Heat-bonded on site by our installation team using a gas torch to fuse each piece directly to the tarmac, with the full reveal captured on film.
The brief meant designing for two scales at once: big enough to read from across 30 metres, precise enough that dozens of individual children’s names stayed crisp and legible inside the letterforms – some of the smallest characters were around 100mm!
Despite tight timelines, the project was delivered on schedule – just in time for the official unveiling ceremony.
The Technical Detail
- Material: preformed thermoplastic: resin, glass beads, pigment and binder, extruded into sheet before cutting
- Cut accuracy: Pieces as small as 4-5mm.
- Sheet thickness: 2.5mm +/- 0.5mm.
- Colour: RAL-matched to RAL 3020 and RAL 9016.
- Slip resistance: tested to BS 7188, wet and dry.
- Durability: UV and weather resistant, engineered to hold colour and edge definition through the Isle of Man’s coastal climate for years.
- Application: heat-bonded directly to the tarmac with a gas torch, ThermTac Primer used to ensure longevity, and road-ready within minutes of cooling.
- Maintenance: minimal; no repainting cycle required, unlike standard line-marking paint.
Beyond This Project
While the Cavendish mural is one of our bigger projects, the same capability applies to any organisation that wants more than a functional line on the ground:
- Waterjet cutting means designs aren’t limited to stock shapes; logos, wayfinding, intricate lettering, even names worked into the artwork, all cut to the same accuracy as this raceway lettering.
- BS 7188-tested slip resistance means it holds up in places where that actually matters; playgrounds, town centres, car parks, transport hubs, and yes – cycle tracks!
- A full RAL range and matching service means branding, team colours or corporate identity can be matched exactly rather than approximated.
- Because colour and edges hold under UV and weather, there’s no repaint cycle to plan for, which is useful for public bodies working to fixed maintenance budgets.
- Heat-bonded application means minimal disruption on site. No closures waiting for paint to cure, no weather windows to work around the way liquid line-marking needs.
Put together, that’s the difference between a project that fades in a couple of summers and one that still looks sharp years on.
The Result
The mural has become the centrepiece at the newly named Sir Mark Cavendish Raceway – visible on Google Maps! – earning positive feedback from both the IoM Government, residents, the media, and the even the cycling community. It reflects the spirit of local pride whilst showcasing what’s possible with bespoke thermoplastic design.
