• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

Cavendish Vs Kittel 2015

I know it is early days but now that they have had their first race (albeit not together), it is time to predict who will come out on top when they do meet up.
For me, I like Cav but he has lost the raw power that he once possessed. As far as I know, Cav has not beaten Kittlel in a bunch sprint for the last two years and I don't see him doing it this year.
Your bet is ....... ?
 
bladerunner said:
I know it is early days but now that they have had their first race (albeit not together), it is time to predict who will come out on top when they do meet up.
For me, I like Cav but he has lost the raw power that he once possessed. As far as I know, Cav has not beaten Kittlel in a bunch sprint for the last two years and I don't see him doing it this year.
Your bet is ....... ?

Actually he beat him at Vattenfall.
 
I don't think Cavendish will stand a chance - as usual.

As far as I can tell, here are the sprints in which Cavendish and Kittel both have participated in (I might have made an oversight somewhere).

2014:
Tour of Britain, Stage 8b : London - London: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 2nd
Tour of Britain, Stage 1 : Liverpool - Liverpool: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 3rd
Vattenfall Cyclassics - Hamburg: Kittel 6th, Cavendish 5th

2013:
Tour de France, Stage 21 : Versailles - Paris: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 3rd
Tour de France, Stage 12 : Fougères - Tours: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 2nd
Tour de France, Stage 10 : St-Gildas-des-Bois - Saint Malo: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 3rd,
Tour de France, Stage 6 : Aix-en-Provence - Montpellier: Kittel 3rd, Cavendish 4th
Ster ZLM Toer, Stage 2 : Buchten - Buchten: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 3rd
Ster ZLM Toer, Stage 1 : Breda - Breda: Kittel 5th, Cavendish 3rd
Scheldeprijs: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 2nd

2012:
Ster ZLM Tour, Stage 1 : Eindhoven - Sittard/Geleen: Kittel 1st, Cavendish 3rd

Kittel: 9
Cavendish: 2
 
Mar 13, 2009
16,854
1
0
Visit site
Frodo gonna get his @rse handed to him by Ivan Drago, and this will not be a Peter Jackson hobbit feelgood film story for Hollywood hobbits n Frodo.

Just ask Mrs John Murphy
Lundgren_Ivan_Drago.jpg
 
Jun 5, 2014
883
0
0
Visit site
People will be surprised at how strong Cav will bounce back. Age isn't a factor. He is 30 (!) , Cipollini dominated the field at age 35. And even if that's not for everybody...up until 32/33 it's not a matter of age, just of having had 1 bad year. If he has trained well he will be as strong as he was a couple of years ago.
 
Dr. Juice said:
People will be surprised at how strong Cav will bounce back. Age isn't a factor. He is 30 (!) , Cipollini dominated the field at age 35. And even if that's not for everybody...up until 32/33 it's not a matter of age, just of having had 1 bad year. If he has trained well he will be as strong as he was a couple of years ago.

If you look at Hugo's post you'll see Kittel has been beating Cav for more than a year.
 
Jul 29, 2012
11,703
4
0
Visit site
Please put a 500m hill of 2% in the last 10 km, then we don't have to talk about Kittel.

It's still beyond me that a guy like him is so popular. Talks about changing cycling while he's barely a cyclist. Sprints 200meters, that's his career.
 
Dr. Juice said:
People will be surprised at how strong Cav will bounce back. Age isn't a factor. He is 30 (!) , Cipollini dominated the field at age 35. And even if that's not for everybody...up until 32/33 it's not a matter of age, just of having had 1 bad year. If he has trained well he will be as strong as he was a couple of years ago.

Cipollini was a totally different rider.
Actually Cipollini was similar to Kittel.
Cavendish is very small, light and doesn't produce rather small amounts of watts for a sprinter.
Cavendish will decline a lot faster than guys like Cipollini and Kittel.
Force stays a lot longer than accelaration.
 
Miburo said:
Please put a 500m hill of 2% in the last 10 km, then we don't have to talk about Kittel.

It's still beyond me that a guy like him is so popular. Talks about changing cycling while he's barely a cyclist. Sprints 200meters, that's his career.

Take some screenshots ladies and gentlemen.

I agree with Miburo.
 
Mar 13, 2009
16,854
1
0
Visit site
Bavarianrider said:
Cipollini was a totally different rider.
Actually Cipollini was similar to Kittel.
Cavendish is very small, light and doesn't produce rather small amounts of watts for a sprinter.
Cavendish will decline a lot faster than guys like Cipollini and Kittel.
Force stays a lot longer than accelaration.
actually, even when Mcewen retired about 36, he still had the best jump in the peloton. I think the best jump would now be either the new French guy, or still Chicchi if he has a team, he had an awesome jump. Petacchi raved about him when they were on Fassa.
 
Miburo said:
Please put a 500m hill of 2% in the last 10 km, then we don't have to talk about Kittel.

The first stage of last years Tour had a 600m @ 6% hill with 1km to go. Kittel won. Easily.
In a sprint Kittel will beat Cavendish almost everytime, but I don't think Kittel will ever win a stage like the one to Aubenas Cav won in the Tour of 2009, or in a way Cav won the British nationals.
 
In a Flat race Kittel all the way.

But as others have mentioned, a small lump on the road is enough to drop him.

I remember he was a very Good TT rider in his junior/U 23 days.

It will be interesting to see whether he has the stamina to be a factor in Paris Roubaix in the future .
 
Aug 4, 2011
3,647
0
0
Visit site
The Chicken said:
Cavendish will be causing lots more crashes during sprints until he retires, it'll be his way of dealing with the fact he can no longer challenge and is effectively FINISHED as a rider. He'll get nowhere near Kittel.

He does like a crash. But if Cav stops throwing the toys out of the pram that would mean he does not care so much. I think he still cares but I don't think he has the ability to dominate anymore. He has pretty much won everything he could win as a sprinter.
 
Jun 30, 2014
7,060
2
0
Visit site
the asian said:
In a Flat race Kittel all the way.

But as others have mentioned, a small lump on the road is enough to drop him.

I remember he was a very Good TT rider in his junior/U 23 days.

It will be interesting to see whether he has the stamina to be a factor in Paris Roubaix in the future .

Funny, i was thinking about exactly the same thing a few days ago. His problem are steeper hills and easy hills in the second or third week of a GT, maybe he could be a factor in Paris Roubaix with the right preparation and some experience on the cobbles.
I still think the sprinter to watch for the next few editions of P-R will be Kristoff.
 
Aug 15, 2012
1,065
0
0
Visit site
Normally I'd say 60-40 Kittel/Cav, but I think the real problem is Cav's motivation and confidence. These guys are on opposite sides of the career bell curve. Whether that translates into Cav feeling he has something to prove and Kittel riding the wave will just have to be decided by the boys themselves.
 
Sep 3, 2012
638
0
0
Visit site
yespatterns said:
Normally I'd say 60-40 Kittel/Cav, but I think the real problem is Cav's motivation and confidence. These guys are on opposite sides of the career bell curve. Whether that translates into Cav feeling he has something to prove and Kittel riding the wave will just have to be decided by the boys themselves.

I'd agree with what you said as regards career curves, but I think it's more 70/30 now. Having said that I think there's going to be a victory or 2 for Cav along the way as Kittle is not invincible. Maybe more so toward the end of a 3 week tour. Cavs a fighter for sure he'll keep going for it but is a bit back from his peak years.
 

TRENDING THREADS