Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Freewheeling => Racing => Topic started by: jezzasnr on 11 March, 2011, 08:47:57 am
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Anybody hearing any rumours reference a breaking (bad) news story ref Cavendish?
Couple of mentions on twitter, but doesn't look good.
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What's he done? Suffocated on his girlfriend's tits or something?
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Well if it is doping related he is going to look extra bad after saying this stuff:
CAVENDISH DEFENDS CYCLING'S REPUTATION | Sporting Life | Cycling, Athletics, MotoGP, Rallying
(http://www.sportinglife.com/others/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=cycling/11/03/01/CYCLING_Cavendish_Nightlead.html)
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Looked at twitter and it just suggests he's moving to sky
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Wouldn't be surprised if he moves. He is not being paid what he is worth at Htc, and relations between him and Stapleton are bad.
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Its not a new rumour either, it was doing the rounds last year.
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And with Thomas as his leadout man he'd be even more unstoppable.
2011 Paris-Nice: Stage 2: Recap | www.cyclingfans.com (http://www.cyclingfans.com/node/1663 ) that's him leading out Henderson at 1:00
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The way he got spat out the back on the only hill of the day today I don't think Sky will be interested.
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The attraction would be to build a well drilled, well rehearsed, used-to-operating-with-each-other team around him for London.
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Pez has it that he'll be riding for BMC next year. (I presume they meant next year).
...the writing is on the wall at HTC, the body language and vibe is all wrong and the word is that he'll be in the red and black of BMC for 2011. He doesn't look like the all conquering Cav of yester year - and in our opinion, Petacchi out dragged him fair and square on stage two.
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Still got a sense of humour though.
En route to Sicily. Ah, the nostalgia of boarding a ferry to a place full of gangsters. Reminds me of my teenage years going to Liverpool.
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What's he done? Suffocated on his girlfriend's tits or something?
Cruel .... but funny! ;D
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Word is on local tv its been suggested he took a tow from a car up a hill in the stage he won
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Word is on local tv its been suggested he took a tow from a car up a hill in the stage he won
Rumour control - yesterday's stage 10 won by Cav was a flat one, the accusations relate to Sunday's stage 9 (finishing on the slopes of Mt. Etna), where he only just beat the cut-off time.
Interestingly, there are a couple of pics posted in the Giro Stage 10 thread on Bikeradar that show riders from a variety of teams taking a tow from the Quickstep team car on stage 9. The HTC rider in the pictures isn't Cavendish, BTW.
Giro Stage 9 pictures (http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=16950742#16950742)
Local TV seem to be living down to the nominal standards of researching a story.
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No surprise there - the cameras descend on Petacchi at the finish line no matter who won!
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Looked at twitter and it just suggests he's moving to sky
Richard Moore seems to agree
Mark Cavendish in shock move to join Bradley Wiggins at Team Sky | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2004053/Mark-Cavendish-shock-join-Bradley-Wiggins-Team-Sky.html)
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Hardly a shock, if it does happen, it's been rumoured for ages
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...when he competes as favourite for the Olympic road race on day one of next year’s Games
Favourite for the road race? Is he?
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If true, it raises all sorts of questions.
Cav has been used to having HTC as a dedicated Cav lead-out train. Will Sky be the same?
Is this a change of policy from the Brailsford 'TdF winner within 5 years' goal? A number of (more or less) guaranteed wins a year to keep the sponsors happy v. an ambitious but probably fruitless gamble?
Wiggins is reputed to have left Highroad because it was nothing more than the Cav show and wanted a bit of the limelight for himself. Will he stay on at Sky if Cav's there?
Likewise will EBH stay on? Also Swift and others? Will they be content with being Cav's leadout with no glory themselves? Or will Cav have to get by with less of a dedicated leadout while doubling his Pay?
Who else will be joining from HTC, Renshaw perhaps?
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Sky showed the ability in California to put together a good "HTC Style" train. Was that for it's own sake (and the resulting stage wins) I wonder - or a message to Cav ?
On the other hand when has any team been able to mount a credible bid for GC and Points Jersey in the same grand tour ? I'm new to this so maybe it has happened, but it looks to me like an either/or ?
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I reckon if Cavendish – troubled racer! were ever made into a film, a young Kenneth Moore could play the part!
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On the other hand when has any team been able to mount a credible bid for GC and Points Jersey in the same grand tour ? I'm new to this so maybe it has happened, but it looks to me like an either/or ?
Zabel & Ullrich did it for Telekom in... <googles> ...1997. That's the only one I can think of, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were others. Eddy Merckx, of course, won both all by himself on three occasions. And took the polka dot jersey as well for good measure on one occasion.
IIRC, Zabel never had the same kind of backing from his team but I think Cav's reliance on his lead-out train is overstated.
Having said that, a lead-out of Geraint Thomas, Ben Swift and EBH would be a bit special.
d.
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I wonder if the Lance Era has distorted views on this? He gives the impression that you need 6 sacrificial mountain-goats to do well in the mountains. I'm not convinced this is the case, but I haven't really paid much attention to the domestiques of recent winners.
A better analysis might be:
of teams that had a strong contender for Yellow and Green, how did they get on?
Maybe few teams have bothered employing 2 such people in the recent era.
It feels like your team isn't critical in the mountains - the sprinters just drag themselves round in the time limits, the GC contenders just need a massive engine and they'll do OK! On the flat stages, the same team that gets your sprinter to the last 10km in safety would also be good at getting your GC guy there. I think.
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Zabel & Ullrich did it for Telekom in... <googles> ...1997. That's the only one I can think of...
I completely forgot that Zabel and Riis did it the year before. Doh!
d.
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I know Cav reputedly relys on his train but, I think he can more than hold his own in the last 4-500 meters without it.
The train gets him and the GC rider into the last KM or so and Cav then latches on to whoever he likes the look of. It worked a treat for Robbie McEwan.
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The train makes it easier but he is more than capable without it. As he has shown many times.
..d
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Remember Stage 19 in 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uavoneCuoM)? A long sprint on an uphill finish with a reduced train. He could manage that, so he can manage whatever he gets dealt.
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The problem with Sky's aim of a TdF win in 5 years, is that you need THE rider who is going to deliver it. It doesn't look like it will be Wiggins (be great if it was though), so where are they going to sign that rider? So, yes get Cav and go for some stage wins instead isa great move, I just don't see Cav in a team thats really going for the GC.
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The problem with Sky's aim of a TdF win in 5 years, is that you need THE rider who is going to deliver it. It doesn't look like it will be Wiggins (be great if it was though), so where are they going to sign that rider? So, yes get Cav and go for some stage wins instead isa great move, I just don't see Cav in a team thats really going for the GC.
The 5 year plan still has 4 years left to run doesn't it? Last year was the first Sky TdF so it is still early days. Have faith.
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Thomas for a TdF win in about 5 years..
Wiggo is the best we have right now but there are some really good guys coming through.
Kennaugh is another great rider with potential.
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Thomas for a TdF win in about 5 years..
I'll second that. I've always thought Brailsford was talking about Thomas rather than Wiggo when he made his five years claim.
Kennaugh is another great rider with potential.
Indeed. And Swifty to win the green jersey within five years? I reckon he'll give Cav a run for his money (unless they're on the same team...).
Mind you, so will Peter Sagan - shame he's not in the Tour this year.
Shame Degenkolb isn't in the Tour either, for that matter. Surely he'd be a great asset in Cav's leadout train?
d.
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Shame Degenkolb isn't in the Tour either, for that matter. Surely he'd be a great asset in Cav's leadout train?
d.
Have you seen the size of him?! He'd never haul himself him over the mountains. ;D
Agreed about Thomas and Kennaugh. The latter in particular seems to climb very well without being a pure climber.
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Isnt it nice to have some UK names whoare featuring in the tour and some real talent coming through.
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I don't think Swift has the raw speed and accelleration of Cav but he can do better on tougher stages.
Interesting times ahead.
..d
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So Sky are aiming for not only a TdF win in 5 years but a British TdF winner! That's a very tall order! Considering we have never even had a podium finish.
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So Sky are aiming for not only a TdF win in 5 years but a British TdF winner! That's a very tall order! Considering we have never even had a podium finish.
In business that's called a stretch target. ;D
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Going back to the original topic... I have it on good authority that Cav will indeed be in Sky's colours next season.