Why of course. At Cannondale he was the main fixture who was supposed to bring home the bacon and when he didnt do that the pressure rose both from himself and the surroundings. Here his main duty is to protect Alberto which, as far as media duties and internal pressure goes becomes far less of a burden for him.Electress said:Shame for Cav. today, but it's hard not to like Griepel. And Sagan showed blistering speed. He's immensely strong ATM.
As for relations with his team, he seems much happier thus far than he did last year, when he seemed frustrated and a bit unhappy all the time because he wasn'tt winning. Perhaps he enjoys not having quite so much pressure and being a bit more under the radar?
Any idea why neither he nor and Sagan were on the new Venge?armchairclimber said:Cavendish was extremely gracious, post-race today.
Really, he hasn't lost anything?Happy dude said:People saying cav has lost it. He hasn't lost anything, Greipel has just been much smarter on 2 stages so far. Letting cav lead him out. And since they've both been headwind finishes. That was the correct thing to do.
But I do hope Cavendish doesn't apportion blame to his team again today. Yes they went too early again but he should've known that everyone would die in the headwind and should've kicked at 150, not 300
I never said that Cav hasn't lost anything my friend, but I don't think he has lost as much as people are trying to make out. And have you seen who he was up against in 2009? Hardly immense competition, and also, he had an absolutely nailed on leadout every stage.Ruby United said:Really, he hasn't lost anything?Happy dude said:People saying cav has lost it. He hasn't lost anything, Greipel has just been much smarter on 2 stages so far. Letting cav lead him out. And since they've both been headwind finishes. That was the correct thing to do.
But I do hope Cavendish doesn't apportion blame to his team again today. Yes they went too early again but he should've known that everyone would die in the headwind and should've kicked at 150, not 300
4, 6, 5, 5, 3, 2, 0 (as of so far)
These are the amount of stages he has won each tour in order from 2008-2015 (excluding last year of course)
How can you honestly say Cav isn't losing anything?
Did you watch 2009 Champs d'eleeys or, for an example where he didn't have a perfect lead out, 2011 World Champs? Seriously, the Cav of 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, would have won both stages so far with ease. Cav was always the fastest, he didn't need a perfect lead out. His final kick was always so strong that no matter who was on his wheel, no one could come around him.
I think that saying Cav hasn't lost anything is one of the most ignorant thing's I have read on this forum.
(no offence)
To have a nearly 30km TTT on Stage 9 after a week of classic stages nearly every day is utterly insane. I've seen a lot of stupid things in cycling but I think this tops the lot.Dekker_Tifosi said:Kelderman is having a lot of back pain issues. Worrying news for Lotto for the TTT with Ten Dam and Kelderman already heavily injured....
I've read many comments along this line; but I think I'm of two minds about it. Yes, it would suck for a GC contender to be punished by his team's bad luck; but it also accentuates the team aspect of road racing. I actually think this is preferable to TTTs at the beginning of a race since the attrition-fatigue combination acts as an equalizer of sorts.JRanton said:To have a nearly 30km TTT on Stage 9 after a week of classic stages nearly every day is utterly insane. I've seen a lot of stupid things in cycling but I think this tops the lot.
I would suggest exactly the opposite. The best riders have the best stamina, and the best recovery. The best riders are riding further within their limits by staying with the peloton than the weaker. Bring the riders towards the limits of their capabilities, and those with lower capacity suffer most. The gaps wil lbe bigger by having this as stage 9 than they would be by having it as stage 3 (for example): differences will be extended, not equalised.AlexNYC said:I've read many comments along this line; but I think I'm of two minds about it. Yes, it would suck for a GC contender to be punished by his team's bad luck; but it also accentuates the team aspect of road racing. I actually think this is preferable to TTTs at the beginning of a race since the attrition-fatigue combination acts as an equalizer of sorts.JRanton said:To have a nearly 30km TTT on Stage 9 after a week of classic stages nearly every day is utterly insane. I've seen a lot of stupid things in cycling but I think this tops the lot.