Author Topic: Cavendish goes off again:  (Read 10305 times)

Jakob

Cavendish goes off again:
« on: 06 April, 2010, 07:37:38 pm »
         Mark Cavendish puts Team Sky on alert after criticism of André Greipel |
            Sport |
            The Guardian
   


Quote
"If I wanted to just win races I wouldn't ride every ProTour race," said Cavendish. "I understand that at the moment I'm racing to be in my best form for the Tour de France and the world championships. If I wanted to get shit small wins, I'd race shit small races."

He makes it very easy to dislike him.

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #1 on: 06 April, 2010, 07:41:54 pm »
Cycling Sport had an interesting article about Andre some time ago.  It constantly referred to the clash between him and Cavendish that so far the team were managing very well.
Considering HTC Columbia is a modern take of T-Mobile - I reckon the German will get better service in the long run.
Cavendish will go to Sky is my bet.

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #2 on: 06 April, 2010, 07:45:32 pm »
wysiwyg

Personally I very much like what I see.

"What a long, strange trip it's been", Truckin'

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #3 on: 06 April, 2010, 07:57:59 pm »
Yep, I agree.
I see Cavendish as open and honest.

simonp

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #4 on: 06 April, 2010, 07:59:40 pm »
Yep, I agree.
I see Cavendish as open and honest.


+1.

Most sportsmen learn not to speak their minds after a while.  Cavendish is his own man, and won't be told how to act, it seems.  I like this.  :thumbsup:

Jakob

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #5 on: 06 April, 2010, 08:05:13 pm »
Heh..and if he was, say, American, would you say the same?
 :demon:

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #6 on: 06 April, 2010, 08:06:43 pm »
Bearing in mind I am Australian, then yes  ;D
He reminds me a lot of Robbie McEwen in his prime.
Fired up and full of go.

Cavendish though is much much better.

simonp

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #7 on: 06 April, 2010, 08:10:20 pm »
Heh..and if he was, say, American, would you say the same?
 :demon:

Dunno, I doubt anyone would have made a fuss if he was.

Jakob

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #8 on: 06 April, 2010, 09:55:51 pm »
So, it's ok if junior sprinters in your local club starts behaving the same way?.

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #9 on: 06 April, 2010, 10:13:58 pm »
When they have won a monument, numerous Giro/Tour stages and given appropriate thanks to their team-mates who put them in that position, then yes your junior sprinters can behave like Cav.

"What a long, strange trip it's been", Truckin'

simonp

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #10 on: 06 April, 2010, 10:21:04 pm »
So, it's ok if junior sprinters in your local club starts behaving the same way?.

They can do what they like, it's not my place to tell people how to be successful athletes, is it?  Cav seems to have worked it out.

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #11 on: 06 April, 2010, 10:38:33 pm »
Cycling Sport had an interesting article about Andre some time ago.  It constantly referred to the clash between him and Cavendish that so far the team were managing very well.
Considering HTC Columbia is a modern take of T-Mobile - I reckon the German will get better service in the long run.
Cavendish will go to Sky is my bet.

Not sure I agree - Bob Stapleton has spent big time trying to distance them from the T-Mobile days, and I believe they are now US-based and very proud of their multi-cultural mix.

Cav is they guy really getting them noticed in the big races so not sure they'll give him up without a fight - they've let Boasson-Hagen and Ciolek both go rather than risk upsetting Cav,

And Cav will only move if they stop building a team around him - no sign of that yet.

Tho' I bet Sky would love to have him!
"What a long, strange trip it's been", Truckin'

Jakob

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #12 on: 06 April, 2010, 11:28:17 pm »
So, it's ok if junior sprinters in your local club starts behaving the same way?.

They can do what they like, it's not my place to tell people how to be successful athletes, is it?  Cav seems to have worked it out.
I disagree. Being a successful athlete does not mean that bad behaviour should be excused.
Neither Chris Hoy, Pendleton, et al, resorts to that crap and even Armstrong, who could certainly be arrogant, was never as bad as Cav.
I honestly think that you guys are being dishonest and only accept it because he's British...in the same way that when foreign footballers dive, it's bad(mm'kay), but when England players do it, it's 'smart'.
Oh and junior sprinters wont wait until they've done all that...and admonishing them wont help, when your idol is doing and it's seemingly ok.

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #13 on: 06 April, 2010, 11:34:07 pm »
Good sprinters are pretty much by definition gob-shites, they do no work for 99.9% of the race then take all the glory in a brutal finish.  If your junior sprinters haven't got that touch of arrogance then they can forget it, the race does not go to the meek.

I'm happy to admit I'm biased btw - I've had the pleasure of meeting Cav on a four-day training camp (he was there for two days post ToB) and he was a cracking kid.
"What a long, strange trip it's been", Truckin'

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #14 on: 07 April, 2010, 05:58:49 am »
So, it's ok if junior sprinters in your local club starts behaving the same way?.

They can do what they like, it's not my place to tell people how to be successful athletes, is it?  Cav seems to have worked it out.
I disagree. Being a successful athlete does not mean that bad behaviour should be excused.
Neither Chris Hoy, Pendleton, et al, resorts to that crap and even Armstrong, who could certainly be arrogant, was never as bad as Cav.
I honestly think that you guys are being dishonest and only accept it because he's British...in the same way that when foreign footballers dive, it's bad(mm'kay), but when England players do it, it's 'smart'.
Oh and junior sprinters wont wait until they've done all that...and admonishing them wont help, when your idol is doing and it's seemingly ok.


Jakob,
I don't understand how I am being dishonest by disagreeing.  If a player dives then that is a dive, no matter what country they come from.  That is cheating - not bitching about a team mate.

The main link to T Mobile that I can see is Rolf Aldag.  He is German and they also have Erik Zabel as sprint coach assistant.  Once again of course T Mobile.  The fact that both are German and Griepel is German is what caused me to question the longevity of Cavendish's role at HTC - Columbia.

The Cycle Sport article actually mentions Cav as doing the Tour of California and Andre doing the Giro - and quotes Aldag as supporting Cav as the agenda is the green jersey.  The only main difference in this article is that it appears to contain personal views of Cavendish on his team mate, in response to comments his team mate made about him.

Who can believe anything in the media anyway?

I am not lucky enough to have met Cavendish, but I certainly would like to.


Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #15 on: 07 April, 2010, 06:25:53 am »
Personally I would like to see Team Sky progress as an all rounder team, with the possiblity of doing something podium wise in the TDF.
Having a star sprinter on the team is good for publicity, but that comes with a price. Spectacular as sprinters are, it all gets a bit predictable ie Liquigas and Mario etc.

Jakob

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #16 on: 07 April, 2010, 08:47:23 pm »
I'm saying that it's dishonest, because his behaviour is only accepted because his British.
I don't think any such behaviour should be celebrated and I don't for a second buy the argument that he should be allowed to do so because of his success or that he's winning because he's allowed to be so arrogant.

gonzo

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #17 on: 07 April, 2010, 08:56:40 pm »
Who did he say he was looking forwards to helping at the Tour of Flanders last weekend? I thought that was Grippel?

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #18 on: 07 April, 2010, 09:03:21 pm »
The bit I just don't get is what he has said that is so wrong.

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #19 on: 07 April, 2010, 09:48:49 pm »
Who did he say he was looking forwards to helping at the Tour of Flanders last weekend? I thought that was Grippel?

Bernhard Eisel, I think.

simonp

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #20 on: 08 April, 2010, 03:48:19 am »
The bit I just don't get is what he has said that is so wrong.


Plucky failures don't make us feel so inadequate, you see.

Manotea

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Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #21 on: 08 April, 2010, 07:26:00 am »
Whichever way you look at it, you gotta admire quotes like ' Last year I won it picking my nose'.

mattc

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Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #22 on: 08 April, 2010, 12:08:04 pm »
I disagree. Being a successful athlete does not mean that bad behaviour should be excused.

I honestly think that you guys are being dishonest and only accept it because he's British...in the same way that when foreign footballers dive, it's bad(mm'kay), but when England players do it, it's 'smart'.
I am completely with you on the first point.

WRT to british footballers - well, I'm sure there are some blinkered patriots, but you're daft to paint everyone with the same brush. And football fans, broad-brush speaking, are a very different bunch to bikerace-fans [I don't know why, but fans of the 2 sports do seem to be more polarised than any other sports in this country.I digress ... ]

However, most importantly, I have NO idea what he has done wrong. His "least diplomatic" comments have been after sprint finishes with a mike shoved in his face while he's still panting and sweating into it. Even then I haven't found fault with his comments - he seems fair, hard-working, grateful to his teammates and honest. He has probably engaged in much less "dubious" tactics than a typical elite sprinter.

What is your problem with him?
Has never ridden RAAM
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Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #23 on: 14 April, 2010, 10:45:33 am »
There is an interview with Cav in The Guardian today, in which he stakes his claim as to why he'll win the points jersey in the TdF this year: Mark Cavendish wants the green jersey and sees no one to stop him.
What on earth am I doing here on this beautiful day?! This is the only life I've got!!

https://tyredandhungry.wordpress.com/

Re: Cavendish goes off again:
« Reply #24 on: 15 April, 2010, 12:02:06 pm »
he also admits that the tiff with Greipel is a least a little bit manufactured, and shows no indication of leaving HTC-Columbia for Sky.
"What a long, strange trip it's been", Truckin'