Cav takes tabloid heat for failed GB tactics

[Mellow Velo]

At least the tabloids have elevated cycling to the same level as football.

England football team: Build them so tall, they can only fall, then totally rubbish
them, when it happens.

I expect all will be forgiven, today, after Lizzie A, yesterday.

 

[spalco]

You chase your own man if it gives you a better chance, which it clearly did in this case.

I don't think it's as clear as you make it out to be.

Certainly Goss would have been a favourite to win a medal in a bunch sprint, but is Uran a better Classics rider than O'Grady? O'Grady could have made that final break also.

In hindsight I think it was a gamble worth making for Australia to keep their guys in the peloton fresh and put their money on O'Grady if the race doesn't come together.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

I don't think it's as clear as you make it out to be.

Certainly Goss would have been a favourite to win a medal in a bunch sprint, but is Uran a better Classics rider than O'Grady? O'Grady could have made that final break also.

In hindsight I think it was a gamble worth making for Australia to keep their guys in the peloton fresh and put their money on O'Grady if the race doesn't come together.

O'Grady may have done, of course. But the chances of it happening, given his company, was pretty low. This isn't the O'Grady of 10 years ago, remember. Goss would have had an excellent chance of a medal. In his last sprint against the aforementioned, he finished 3rd on the Champs Elysees.

I see why they put a guy in the break - it's an insurance policy, in case it doesn't come back for a sprint. But to then not contribute to giving yourself the best chance...bizarre.

 

[Cookster15]

While the British dump on their mens road cycling team Australians are dumping on our Mens 100 metre freestyle swim team. Like the Brits they were hot favourites and missed a medal. Sometimes it pays not to talk yourself up.

 

[Frosty]

My thoughts:

The hype over Cavendish had been built up far too high. Yes, he is the fastest at the end of a race but needs to get there with everyone else to win. With only 4 team-mates and a lot of people determined to not let him get to the finish in the lead group it was always going to be difficult. The race itself was a tricky one to call as the hills were enough to cause problems but not to really cause too many problems for the sprinters. Small teams makes the dynamics of the race harder to predict.

Allied to the above, the fastest sprinter in the final 200 metres of a race does not deserve to win. A race has many different features which different people will be best at.

Riding for Cavendish made sense - with a bit more help from people who should have worked towards the end then maybe they could have done it. Britain's riders are generally not as good at road racing as tt'ing. In the four monuments competed in so far the best position is Stannard in 59th... Ok, so this is a bit misleading - Millar was injured for much of the time, Stannard worked for others, Froome doesnt do one-dayers and was ill, Wiggins is only doing stage races this year. However, the lack of experience at the sharp end shows that Cavendish was the best plan A. After all, who will GB ride for in the worlds this year?

I only saw the first hour of the race before going out for a ride but i when i saw a quality break of 12 go away early on with GB starting to chase i thought then that things wouldnt go right for GB. The break contained a strong rider from most of the strongest nations, so they were going to push it hard, it wasnt like a flat stage where you get three or four going off the front. I felt that GB should have put a rider up in the break to sit on. Maybe then the break wouldnt have worked, a new break forms, etc, but having a rider who is the freshest in a break of 12 would have been a good option, especially as you could save the likes of Froome and Wiggins to mark attacks later on?

In agreement with others, i would have had Millar as the preferred option for the break. Out of the non-Cav options he is the best sprinter and has done well in some of the classics in recent years so would have the most experience in the last few kilometres etc. Maybe in a year or two Geraint Thomas could be a good option. Froome's form from the tour suggests he could be a good one-day rider (big engine, can sprint a bit), be interesting to see if he gives some of the hilly classics a go next year although i think he may be kept back for stage races.

 

[Frosty]

O'Grady may have done, of course. But the chances of it happening, given his company, was pretty low. This isn't the O'Grady of 10 years ago, remember. Goss would have had an excellent chance of a medal. In his last sprint against the aforementioned, he finished 3rd on the Champs Elysees.

I see why they put a guy in the break - it's an insurance policy, in case it doesn't come back for a sprint. But to then not contribute to giving yourself the best chance...bizarre.

O'Grady did surprisingly well, coming 4th in the sprint from the remains of the break. Maybe that sort of finish suits him as he strikes me as the sort of guy who has a bit of nous about him.

Aus not doing any work early on made sense with a man in the break but when Gerrans etc missed the later break then surely they should have worked more on the front. Goss had 5 top 3s in the tour so was a good bet for a medal. Surely a better bet than O'Grady was? Just think the lack of time gaps and info must have hurt the race a bit - if aus didnt know where O'Grady was then they may well have had good cause for hesitation - you wouldnt want to start powering the bunch along and then find out that O'Grady had made a break of 4 or 5!

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

People will find what they are looking for with Cav, If you are looking for a whinger than you'll find plenty of evidence for that, if ib contrast you are looking for a guy who speaks out honestly when he is happy and when he is frustrated then you'll find that too.

Personally like it when we see this type of candor from riders even if I dont alway agree with the statements they make.

In this case I think Cav should have kept his mouth shut, they tried their best and came up short.

I agree about Millar trying for an early break to give them a plan B, he could have just sat in the wheels and stayed fresh for the finale, the question is whether the break would have sat up and had another go

 

[auscyclefan94]

Same thing is happening in Australia. Magnussen doesn't win golld in the 4x100m and the media rip into him and turn on him. I think he has been a little bit too cocky but the media are a fickle bunch.

 

[happytramp]

Our boys have built up enough credit recenly to be completely immune from criticism for at least a couple of years. Simple as that.

That's nonsense. But on the plus side it appears you could have a good career as a tabloid journalist

 

[Kwibus]

Same thing is happening in Australia. Magnussen doesn't win golld in the 4x100m and the media rip into him and turn on him. I think he has been a little bit too cocky but the media are a fickle bunch.

The dutch females were the big favourites for the 4x100m since they were unbeaten since last Olympics. Now they ended up 2nd which ofcourse was a big dissapointment for everyone and specially the girls themselves.
Media has been really great here though despite the dissapointment. I must say the girls are very likeable which probably helps.

 

[Corona]

Put simply the supremo of British Cycling should not be in charge of one of the richest commercial team as well. The conflict of interest is just too large.

'Bernie, unless you give Cav a bit of help in the olympics your Sky contract is terminated'.

'Millar, if you want to ride for team GB in the olympics then you'll have to help Wiggins on a couple of stages of the tour.'

'The only way I'm going to pick you for team GB in the olympics is if you also sign for Sky'

'Millar, there is no way you're joining a break, it's a Sky rider or nothing'

I'm not for one minute suggesting these things have happened but the roles are incompatible. DB should be made to choose one or the other. By all means act in an advisory role for the olympics but not making the ultimate decisions when you're running a pro team.

Olympics... Meh, only the boxing has it right. Keep it to amateurs to showcase their talents before embarking on their professional career. It can never rival their own championship events for the bigger sports. We're going to see Tiger Woods & co strutting their stuff on the golf course for the next olympics. Anything that can add some extra cash into the whole corrupt movement.

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

Put simply the supremo of British Cycling should not be in charge of one of the richest commercial team as well. The conflict of interest is just too large.

'Bernie, unless you give Cav a bit of help in the olympics your Sky contract is terminated'.

'Millar, if you want to ride for team GB in the olympics then you'll have to help Wiggins on a couple of stages of the tour.'

'The only way I'm going to pick you for team GB in the olympics is if you also sign for Sky'

'Millar, there is no way you're joining a break, it's a Sky rider or nothing'

I'm not for one minute suggesting these things have happened but the roles are incompatible. DB should be made to choose one or the other. By all means act in an advisory role for the olympics but not making the ultimate decisions when you're running a pro team.

Olympics... Meh, only the boxing has it right. Keep it to amateurs to showcase their talents before embarking on their professional career. It can never rival their own championship events for the bigger sports. We're going to see Tiger Woods & co strutting their stuff on the golf course for the next olympics. Anything that can add some extra cash into the whole corrupt movement.

come off it, alliegences are formed on and off the road all the time for a variety of reasons.

 

[Corona]

come off it, alliegences are formed on and off the road all the time for a variety of reasons.

Of course they are, the difference being nobody is forcing anybody to make those allegiances,they are doing so out of their own free will. I repeat, I'm not suggesting he has done but Brailsford is in a position use blackmail to try and force those allegiances if he chooses.

 

[42x16ss]

O'Grady may have done, of course. But the chances of it happening, given his company, was pretty low. This isn't the O'Grady of 10 years ago, remember. Goss would have had an excellent chance of a medal. In his last sprint against the aforementioned, he finished 3rd on the Champs Elysees.

I see why they put a guy in the break - it's an insurance policy, in case it doesn't come back for a sprint. But to then not contribute to giving yourself the best chance...bizarre.

The O'Grady of 10 years ago would have mopped the floor with the guys in that break. The O'Grady of 5 years ago would have had a good chance too. Even at his age he's a better sprinter than most and his positioning is usually superb. Australia were justified in letting him have a go IMO. Uran was 2nd mostly due to a very canny piece of riding, taking the long way around that traffic island then smashing it. If it was a regular reduced bunch sprint then the result would have been different with the remaining riders present.

 

[The Hitch]

Our boys have built up enough credit recenly to be completely immune from criticism for at least a couple of years. Simple as that.

I don't see why winning makes anyone immune from criticism.

Not so much a comment on.sky as general principle.

 

[King Boonen]

Put simply the supremo of British Cycling should not be in charge of one of the richest commercial team as well. The conflict of interest is just too large.

'Bernie, unless you give Cav a bit of help in the olympics your Sky contract is terminated'.

'Millar, if you want to ride for team GB in the olympics then you'll have to help Wiggins on a couple of stages of the tour.'

'The only way I'm going to pick you for team GB in the olympics is if you also sign for Sky'

'Millar, there is no way you're joining a break, it's a Sky rider or nothing'

I'm not for one minute suggesting these things have happened but the roles are incompatible. DB should be made to choose one or the other. By all means act in an advisory role for the olympics but not making the ultimate decisions when you're running a pro team.

This is moronic.

In this shocking development Bernie decides to help out his best mate, how could he!!!

Millar slightly aids first ever British tour winner, declared a leper and ostricised from Garmin.

Cav forced to win World championships and signs massive contract with British based team when old team folds, giving him a chance to ride with nearly all of the guys who will be riding the olympics.


The roles are clearly compatible, especially as most of the top british riders are involved with Sky. I massively dislike Brailsford but to suggest this kind of thing is ridiculous.


GB not sticking a man in the break was silly, Millar even tweeted that Cav was strong enough to go with the break but trusted his team to bring it back. Basically GB blew it, it's just a massively dissapointment for me personally that Vino won, not Cancellara or Boonen who I predicted. I've been telling people for weeks it wouldn't be a bunch sprint.

 

[Der Effe]

The only thing worse than English sportsmen is English press. Lord, what a bunch of rubbish. Funny enough half of these horrific tabloids are owned by the same cretin that owns Team Sky. LOL.

 

[The Eggman]

You chase your own man if it gives you a better chance, which it clearly did in this case.

When there were only 11 away w/ O'Grady, the Aussies were right not to chase

When the Vino/Canc/Chav group bridged and they went to 30, the Peleton was toast.

The mistake the Aussies made was missing the 2nd break.

And do keep in mind no race radios makes this all a bit of a guessing game

 

[The Cobra]

This is the problem when you have people who have no clue about cycling but think they know it all and then write a load of rubbish. Cycling is not like swimming, or running a marathon. The 'best' rider does not always win. It’s far more tactical than that and unless the course is extremely selective tactics will play a huge part.

The tactics of the other teams were spot on. Attack, and keep on attacking until the GB team is broken. Nothing wrong with that, fair play to them. GB did the only reasonable thing they could do. Yeah you could put a man in the break, but then GB would be obliged not to chase, so who's going to bring it back. Millar in a break is going to have nowhere near as big a chance as Cav in a bunch sprint. So strategy wise, that was the card to play and it made most sense. Its easy to say afterwards that they should have done it differently but they would be getting even more heavily criticised if Millar had got 20th in the break and never even tried to set it up for Cav.

He was massively over hyped anyway, it was talked about like all he had to do was turn up and collect his gold medal. A victory in a one day race is never guaranteed. Much more difficult to control than a flat stage in the Tour and even more difficult with only 5 men. Even if it did come to a sprint Cav is far from unbeatable. Yes, he would be the favourite but you wouldn’t exactly put your house on him beating Griepel. If these idiots knew what they were on about they wouldn’t be saying crap like 'you blew it' or 'flop.' They gave it everything they had and it didn’t work, the performance those guys put in was exceptional, and should be praised for that.

 

[movingtarget]

The only thing worse than English sportsmen is English press. Lord, what a bunch of rubbish. Funny enough half of these horrific tabloids are owned by the same cretin that owns Team Sky. LOL.

The only thing worse than a whinging Pom is a gloating one. This time I will happily accept the lesser of two evils. But with the Ashes on the horizon, I have visions of deliriously happy English cricket fans. What an awful thought.

 

[Frosty]

The only thing worse than a whinging Pom is a gloating one.

Maybe that's because you can give out the stick but not take it?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I said the exact same thing to my wife yesterday afternoon.

Curious though, why Millar from your perspective?

Imagine if Millar won. Would the headlines also be "Convicted doper wins first British gold"?

 

[Panda Claws]

The real fail on the Olympics was Germany in my opinion.

 

[Frosty]

The tactics of the other teams were spot on. Attack, and keep on attacking until the GB team is broken. Nothing wrong with that, fair play to them. GB did the only reasonable thing they could do. Yeah you could put a man in the break, but then GB would be obliged not to chase, so who's going to bring it back. Millar in a break is going to have nowhere near as big a chance as Cav in a bunch sprint. So strategy wise, that was the card to play and it made most sense. Its easy to say afterwards that they should have done it differently but they would be getting even more heavily criticised if Millar had got 20th in the break and never even tried to set it up for Cav.

If no one had chased the break then the break would be unlikely to have got to 20 as they would have been too far ahead for people to bridge. Also, if the break wasnt brought back then being the freshest man out of 13 should mean you have a decent chance of medalling.

If others had chased the break then the other GB riders would have been fresher for the finish and so made it more likely that GB could do the work to pull the break back.

Still, fact remains that they werent far off pulling the break back. Just racing at the end of the day, different tactics and you can never be sure exactly what the right one is.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

The only thing worse than English sportsmen is English press. Lord, what a bunch of rubbish. Funny enough half of these horrific tabloids are owned by the same cretin that owns Team Sky. LOL.

Finally - someone sees this for what it is, it wasn't Cav (or team GB) having a whinge, its the hacks who don't understand the sport.

The Borat headline reveals the mentality and bitterness of the UK tabloids.