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Cavendish: class of his own?

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coinneach

Jul 22, 2011
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The only thread I can find on Cav relates to his teeth, so thought his achievement today warranted some acknowledgement:

I see the only 4 other riders who have points jerseys from all 3 GTs are Merckxx, Adbdojaperov, Jalabert & Petacchi.
My memory tell me they have all served time for doping infractions, (please advise about the accuracy of this)

Does this make Cav the first (official) clean winner of these points jerseys?
 
The Hitch

The Hitch

Jun 14, 2010
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Merckx, meh, the **** they are on now that is legal is more powerful than what the Cannibal was on.

Pettachi, Cav himself seemed to think Ale Jet was clean.

Anyway, theres no way you can declare cyclists, especially with Cav's success as clean, (if so, what would happen if his rivals started doping)
But it's certainly far more likely than his 2 compatriots (and i mention this because observations on sky often get dismissed by trolls as anti British)
 
Granville57

Granville57

Dec 7, 2010
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I haven't received my official Mark Cavendish Fan Club water bottle in the mail yet, but a few things need to be said.

The dude can ride.

So many people thought that losing Crenshaw would be the end of Cav's dominance.

Then losing Hincapie...then the demise of HTC...then going to SKY...then going to Quick Step. Go figure, the guy is the best sprinter in the world. And as cliché as it might sound, I think he actually wants to win more than the next guy.

Yeah, that's right. Amongst some of the most highly trained and most competitive athletes on the planet, he seems to want it more.

Oh, and he's really, really fast.

All the things I don't like about the guy don't factor into this particular discussion.

Highly driven. Tactically brilliant. Amazingly fast.

Seems to be a good combo.
 
Granville57

Granville57

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Granville57 said:
Amongst some of the most highly trained and most competitive athletes on the planet, he seems to want it more.
Click to expand...

Good post, Granville, but you should also point out that being the most driven can often lead to being the most "obsessed" which often leads to "winning at all costs."

I'm reminded of one of my favorite FLandis quotes:
"You don't set out to, and then win, seven Tour de France's in a row and think like most other people on the planet."

An obsessive drive to win can often lead to other things.




(It wasn't intentional to drag Floyd and Lance into this. It's just...it's just...too convenient at times)
 
the sceptic

the sceptic

Jul 21, 2012
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ebandit said:
i'm sure that you will all also have seen recent pictures of cav struggling uphill in the giro

of course it's not proof

but all looks aok...............................as clean as any other cycling pro out there

Mark L
Click to expand...

You dont think Cav can win the giro one day?

His climbing is about the same as Wiggins at the same age. And he could use his sprint to pick up lots of bonus seconds. Time trials might be a problem though, he would have to work on that.
 
Don't be late Pedro

Don't be late Pedro

Aug 13, 2010
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the sceptic said:
You dont think Cav can win the giro one day?

His climbing is about the same as Wiggins at the same age. And he could use his sprint to pick up lots of bonus seconds. Time trials might be a problem though, he would have to work on that.
Click to expand...
But then Wiggins has never won the Giro, no?
 
Afrank

Afrank

Aug 16, 2011
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the sceptic said:
You dont think Cav can win the giro one day?

His climbing is about the same as Wiggins at the same age. And he could use his sprint to pick up lots of bonus seconds. Time trials might be a problem though, he would have to work on that.
Click to expand...

He'd have to go back to Sky first, no one on OPQS is going to win any GT's. ;)


Cav, IMO, is about as clean as most cyclists. He can't be declared outright as clean (especially with his palmares). But he hasn't really done much far outside his realm of capabilities (well, except for doing a turn on the front for Sky up the climb on the stage with the nails, but then again that whole Tour was a joke with the climbing).

Can't be declared clean but can't be considered an obvious doper like Santambrogio (if he turns out to be a doper) or Ricco for example.
 
blackcat

blackcat

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Afrank said:
He'd have to go back to Sky first, no one on OPQS is going to win any GT's. ;)


Cav, IMO, is about as clean as most cyclists. He can't be declared outright as clean (especially with his palmares). But he hasn't really done much far outside his realm of capabilities (well, except for doing a turn on the front for Sky up the climb on the stage with the nails, but then again that whole Tour was a joke with the climbing).

Can't be declared clean but can't be considered an obvious doper like Santambrogio (if he turns out to be a doper) or Ricco for example.
Click to expand...
cav won San Remo. This is a massive marker Afrank. imo, Cav unleashed the best sprint i have ever seen, after 300kms.

just doping, does not detract from his accomplishments. it is not a moral issue.

he is THE BEST. THE BEST. ever. he is a champion. doping should not enter the equation, nothing to do with it, it is cycling afterall.
 
RobbieCanuck

RobbieCanuck

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coinneach said:
The only thread I can find on Cav relates to his teeth, so thought his achievement today warranted some acknowledgement:

I see the only 4 other riders who have points jerseys from all 3 GTs are Merckxx, Adbdojaperov, Jalabert & Petacchi.
My memory tell me they have all served time for doping infractions, (please advise about the accuracy of this)

Does this make Cav the first (official) clean winner of these points jerseys?
Click to expand...

What makes pro cycling so disillusioning is there is inevitably a thread in the Clinic for every "successful" cyclist in the peloton. I am not being critical this is just an observation. My hunch is this game of guessing about clean/not clean will take at least 10 years of concerted efforts for the cyclists themselves, the useless UCI (at least under PM) and race organizers to prove to the leaving fans cycling is clean.

So far they have done a pretty poor job. Di Luca and Georges is ample enough evidence that doping continues to be alive and well, the culture still exists and riders/teams are not doing enough to prove to us they are clean.

Publish your data - what are you afraid of?
 
blackcat

blackcat

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Netserk said:
Also the fact that he always gets stronger towards the end of a GT.

In the third week he climbs better than most sprinters.
Click to expand...
the one negative, not talking about doping, from Cav, is when he was on High Road was him hanging on when he went up climbs.

ask Tyler Farrar about his win after a cat2 ascent and descent to get back on after he was jettisoned, and Farrar lost to Cav coming second. @Giro about 2009/10

i could not give a crap about his doping, but that should be Farrar's W. and salary and prizemoney. that is not right. all fair in love and war wrt doping in the peloton. but not hanging on. that is something else than cycling
 
blackcat

blackcat

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coinneach said:
The only thread I can find on Cav relates to his teeth, so thought his achievement today warranted some acknowledgement:

I see the only 4 other riders who have points jerseys from all 3 GTs are Merckxx, Adbdojaperov, Jalabert & Petacchi.
My memory tell me they have all served time for doping infractions, (please advise about the accuracy of this)

Does this make Cav the first (official) clean winner of these points jerseys?
Click to expand...
no

but good thread is the teeth thread. done some of my best work on it http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?p=164300
 
blackcat

blackcat

Mar 13, 2009
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the sceptic said:
You dont think Cav can win the giro one day?

His climbing is about the same as Wiggins at the same age. And he could use his sprint to pick up lots of bonus seconds. Time trials might be a problem though, he would have to work on that.
Click to expand...
climbing or hangin on? ask tyler farrar about those wins. wiggins never hung on. he always used his legs
 
blackcat

blackcat

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Dazed and Confused said:
However Cav is indeed the best sprinter of his generation.
Click to expand...

and that is all that needs to be said. But i would say GOAT, greatest, all, time, and never to be surpassed. the record speaks for itself.

but i do like poking fun at frodo.
 
F

Franklin

May 26, 2009
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So far nothing is there that says he isn't clean. And yes, that goes for his old mates as Sky as well.

Now if we look at the likelihood it becomes a bit more murkey. He certainly didn't pick a clean team, but it's anyone guess if that means he is under team control. If the latter I'm not hopeful considering we are dealing with Lefevere.

But no hard evidence yet, so it's okay to claim he's clean. Just don't say it's without any doubts ;)
 
ToreBear

ToreBear

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Listening to interviews of Armstrong makes me feel nauseous.
Armstrong is a doper.
Listening to interviews of Cavendish makes me feel nauseous.
ergo
Cavendish is a doper.

Logically consistent argument indicating Cavendish is a doper.
 
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