Cavendish: Why is so difficult to like him?

[Andrichuk]

He is a sprinter a show poney not a worker . we all know the ones who sit in the bunch sucking wheels while we work our but off to chase breaks.
then just as we have it made out they come with a big burst.
Dont you hate them.

If you have to do a turn do it early in the race so pleanty of time to recover and preferably down hill.

This isn't cat 4 or 5 racing. Hes a Pro and has a team build around him. Why should he take a pull up front?

 

[hulkgogan]

The pressure he is under from the (****) British press who know nothing of cycling but expect him to win is obscene.

Most people in the UK don't know who he is. What press? His historic and out of his skin winning of Milan San Remo didn't even make BBC's daily sports cast. So like, what pressure?

Andy Murray? The national football team? That's pressure.

 

[Franklin]

a few things stand out:

he acts like an idiot who forgets to think, yet people here say"oh he is young!".

Well. Jan Ulrich was young, Lance was Young, Fignon, Hinault, etc. etc. etc. All very young vedettes. And yet they were mature (yes some were arrogant and outspoken).

I have a very hard time thinking of one rider who openly abuses team mates... name me one?

The guy is 25! he ain't a 5 year old toddler. And well, I wouldn't accept my toddler to badmouth others like Cav did.

So there you have it: Someone who doesn't respect a team mate, someone who has an ego which might approximate Lance.

Give me a reason to like him.....

And Unless Cav wins 50+ GT stages he still hasn't beaten Petacchi. Cav might be young, but sprinters usually have a limited time being supreme.

 

[auscyclefan94]

At least he never headbutted the camera or threatened to rip anyones throat out, so he deals with pressure better than other cry babies...

1. When he "threatened" it was really joke as he was s******ing.
2. Cav is an arrogant p r i c k, Cadel is not. He is humble and is respectful of his competitors.
3. You can clearly see Sporza was trying to push his buttons the whole tour so they did so again by getting in the way after a mountain stage.

When you chuck out a helmet out when YOU stuffed up shows how immature he is.

 

[Benotti69]

when you believe everything written in the media it is easy to base your opinion on a very low brow written piece, written by people who perpetuate the omerta....

Cav's helmet allegedly thrown out of the bus, i call BS, if that was thrown by Cav it would have gone a lot further then it did, looked to me like it feel out of the bus as i sure he took it off in anger, but threw it? well why let the facts get in the way of a headline....

I like Cav, he's a 'sports star' and whatever he says is pure entertainment like cycling is, sport and entertainment and the people who run it want to make it more entertaining to attract more people, well till you get 'celebrities' of all different hues it'll stay boring with these boring personality less legs....

anybody know the age of Sean Kelly before he had 11 TdF stage wins? Zabel?

His team mates like him and i doubt they would give 100% for an idiot, 98% so not get in trouble with your DS, but Renshaw 'fighting off' Freire and Hushvod for Cav..well speaks volumes....

all opinion on here is based on flimsy media reports...the only people speaking out about Cav are his rivals...

lots of riders conngratulating him after the stage yesterday and he named all his team mates in the press interview so those who imagine he can only see Cav have yet again tried to paint a false picture....

His 2 fingered salute for me was fantastic, much better than kissing lucky charms, point to the heavens etc....

 

[Maxiton]

Just humour guys like Sidney, tall poppy syndrome to the max.

Being a yank, I had to look that one up:

Tall poppy syndrome (TPS) is a pejorative term used in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand to describe a social phenomenon in which people of genuine merit are resented, attacked, cut down, or criticised because their talents or achievements elevate them above or distinguish them from their peers.

Sounds about right. In fact it sounds exactly right. I notice all this anti-Cav nonsense, not just here but on other forums, comes exclusively from the UK plus a little from Australia. I guess that would put it under the heading of social phenomenon. You can't see the forest for the poppies.

 

[ulrikmm]

The idea that all sprinters are arrogant jerks is wrong.

for fun, just name one exception

 

[Barrus]

I think some people don't quite understand poor Cav, as evidenced by his vulnerability on the podium...

That said, what's not to like about his explanation for his recent salute problems from this article:

Cavendish recently told an interviewer that his two-finger salute had been misinterpreted as it was in fact a reference to the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 in which the French army cut the fingers of English archers they took as prisoners.

The archers later showed their remaining fingers to the enemy to make clear the struggle continued.

“It was a symbolic way for me to express that I kept fighting,” Cavendish said.

Awesome.

Come on, do you really believe he had even heard of the battle of Agincourt before some PR-agent told him what to say?

Really I do not really dislike Cavendish, I do not like his team style of sprinting, as flat stages become a tedious affaire, and I do not like certain of his actions, such as the spitting incident. But he is a good sprinter and just needs to learn to control himself and keep his mouth shut

 

[Cerberus]

when you believe everything written in the media it is easy to base your opinion on a very low brow written piece, written by people who perpetuate the omerta....

I rather doubt the media just fabricated the various "interesting" Cavendish quotes out there, he said what he said.

I like Cav, he's a 'sports star' and whatever he says is pure entertainment like cycling is, sport and entertainment and the people who run it want to make it more entertaining to attract more people, well till you get 'celebrities' of all different hues it'll stay boring with these boring personality less legs....

Come on, you're not really suggesting that Cavendish is acting are you? I doubt he has that kind of talent. The kindest interpretation I can think of is that he says douchy things in public because he doesn't deal well with adversity and doesn't think before he opens his mouth. Now I don't hate Cavendish because well Arrogance (from someone who probably is the worlds best sprinter when on form) and douchiness isn't exactly the end of the world, but I do think he's an ***.

His team mates like him and i doubt they would give 100% for an idiot, 98% so not get in trouble with your DS, but Renshaw 'fighting off' Freire and Hushvod for Cav..well speaks volumes....

No it really doesn't. I don't know whether his team mates like him, I only know what he says in public not in private, but giving 100% is what any good professional does. If you deliberately sabotage your captains chances because he's an *** you're a bigger idiot than he is and it will reflect on you contract renewal. Even if the DS doesn't realize you're doing it deliberately he'll see that you're just not doing a good job. The notion that his team working for him means anything shows an incredible lack of respect for the professionalism of Team Columbia.

all opinion on here is based on flimsy media reports...the only people speaking out about Cav are his rivals...

Speak for yourself, my opinion is based on direct quotes - straight from the horses' ***.

 

[Franklin]

when you believe everything written in the media it is easy to base your opinion on a very low brow written piece, written by people who perpetuate the omerta....

Yes, the repeated comments towards Greipel were definitely made up by the evil evil press *sniff*

I like Cav, he's a 'sports star' and whatever he says is pure entertainment like cycling is, sport and entertainment and the people who run it want to make it more entertaining to attract more people, well till you get 'celebrities' of all different hues it'll stay boring with these boring personality less legs....

Oh my^^ So being a spoiled brat is being a hallmark of being an interesting celebrity? Gotcha... There I was always liking a Bernard Hinault who was outspoken yet mature.. boring guy it seems.

anybody know the age of Sean Kelly before he had 11 TdF stage wins? Zabel?

*Smothers a laugh* Ah yes, let's do silly comparisons. I'd say Jan Ulrich is greater than Lance, he had won a TdF at 21!

Oh and Cav is a bad sprinter as Freddy Maertens won ten times more than he did at a younger age.

These comparisons are ridiculous. All we can say that Cav's palmares hasn't matched any of the great yet. I think he probably will, but that's all in the future.

His team mates like him and i doubt they would give 100% for an idiot, 98% so not get in trouble with your DS, but Renshaw 'fighting off' Freire and Hushvod for Cav..well speaks volumes....

Oh get a grip! These guys love Cav because he brings in the money. Them working for him means nothing either way.

all opinion on here is based on flimsy media reports...the only people speaking out about Cav are his rivals...

Nope, Cav makes a caricature from himself and boy does it look bad. Trashtalk without a shred of respect is bad, unprofesional and definitely not the hallmark of a great champion. Not even Lance does that lightly.

lots of riders congratulating him after the stage yesterday and he named all his team mates in the press interview so those who imagine he can only see Cav have yet again tried to paint a false picture....

Ah yes, he named Greipel and apologized? It's like the Oscars... I thank Billy, uncle Tim, Aunt Rita, my supporters and god. I'm sure he is grateful for his domestiques, but it's a cheap sentiment. His wallet speaks much louder in this (and rightly so!).

And congratulations were in order. It was a tremendous effort.

His 2 fingered salute for me was fantastic, much better than kissing lucky charms, point to the heavens etc....

Agreed. Cav's victory salutes are indeed brilliant... though I think as a profesional his HTC "using a phone" was a much better and smarter choice.

That's the oddity.. he does have a knack for good publicity while he's tasting blood and having fire in his longs. Yet when not on the bike he is completely unprofessional and quite frankly hurting himself.

 

[Benotti69]

I rather doubt the media just fabricated the various "interesting" Cavendish quotes out there, he said what he said.

i rather believe the media pour fuel on the fire.....

Come on, you're not really suggesting that Cavendish is acting are you? I doubt he has that kind of talent. The kindest interpretation I can think of is that he says douchy things in public because he doesn't deal well with adversity and doesn't think before he opens his mouth. Now I don't hate Cavendish because well Arrogance (from someone who probably is the worlds best sprinter when on form) and douchiness isn't exactly the end of the world, but I do think he's an ***.

I couldn't care what he says as it doesn't hurt me, but it gets headlines and puts the sport of cycling in the sport pages, which is good for the sport because people sit up and notice...he has little spats. Big deal.

No it really doesn't. I don't know whether his team mates like him, I only know what he says in public not in private, but giving 100% is what any good professional does. If you deliberately sabotage your captains chances because he's an *** you're a bigger idiot than he is and it will reflect on you contract renewal. Even if the DS doesn't realize you're doing it deliberately he'll see that you're just not doing a good job. The notion that his team working for him means anything shows an incredible lack of respect for the professionalism of Team Columbia.

Well they are human, and we all know how falable that particular species is

I couldn't care less for HTC, as for Stapleton's comments on Pevenage, well Cav has hardly got great professional role models in that team

Speak for yourself, my opinion is based on direct quotes - straight from the horses' ***.

i wonder how many time's a quote has been extracted out of context by the oh so pure and white as a white thing media.

don't forget the TdF was started as a promotional 'tool' for a tabloid and it has not strayed far from that and everything in it can be viewed as a great big soap opera that comes around every year.

Cav is one of 190+ main character's in it. Someone some 'love to hate'.....

 

[ergmonkey]

for fun, just name one exception

How about for extra fun I name two? Erik Zabel and Oscar Freire.

 

[ergmonkey]

As for Cav, the reason it's so difficult to like him from the outside is that no matter how much he wins, he's still the resentful little fat boy who can't fit in. From a stranger's perspective, that is not attractive.

Based upon the support and affection for Cavendish demonstrated by people in the know--such as Erik Zabel, Mario Cipollini, and most of Cav's teammates, to name a few--I suspect that Cavendish is a pretty decent guy once you have the chance to really get to know him. That doesn't change the fact that the way he interacts with the outside world is extremely childish, though.

 

[Cerberus]

i wonder how many time's a quote has been extracted out of context by the oh so pure and white as a white thing media.

don't forget the TdF was started as a promotional 'tool' for a tabloid and it has not strayed far from that and everything in it can be viewed as a great big soap opera that comes around every year.

Scepticism is all well and good and the media deserves to be treated with scepticism, but there's a difference between healthy scepticism and ignoring the evidence right in front of your face. No amount of "context" could make Cavendish comments about Greipel non-douchy. If you don't care that's fine, as I said it's not the end of the world, but please stop pretending that the facts aren't the facts.

 

[Hawkwood]

Yes, the repeated comments towards Greipel were definitely made up by the evil evil press *sniff*



Oh my^^ So being a spoiled brat is being a hallmark of being an interesting celebrity? Gotcha... There I was always liking a Bernard Hinault who was outspoken yet mature.. boring guy it seems.



*Smothers a laugh* Ah yes, let's do silly comparisons. I'd say Jan Ulrich is greater than Lance, he had won a TdF at 21!

Oh and Cav is a bad sprinter as Freddy Maertens won ten times more than he did at a younger age.

These comparisons are ridiculous. All we can say that Cav's palmares hasn't matched any of the great yet. I think he probably will, but that's all in the future.



Oh get a grip! These guys love Cav because he brings in the money. Them working for him means nothing either way.



Nope, Cav makes a caricature from himself and boy does it look bad. Trashtalk without a shred of respect is bad, unprofesional and definitely not the hallmark of a great champion. Not even Lance does that lightly.



Ah yes, he named Greipel and apologized? It's like the Oscars... I thank Billy, uncle Tim, Aunt Rita, my supporters and god. I'm sure he is grateful for his domestiques, but it's a cheap sentiment. His wallet speaks much louder in this (and rightly so!).

And congratulations were in order. It was a tremendous effort.



Agreed. Cav's victory salutes are indeed brilliant... though I think as a profesional his HTC "using a phone" was a much better and smarter choice.

That's the oddity.. he does have a knack for good publicity while he's tasting blood and having fire in his longs. Yet when not on the bike he is completely unprofessional and quite frankly hurting himself.

So to summarise he wins races, makes money for his team-mates, and creates publicity for his sponsors....

 

[mickkk]

Hes a Pom.

 

[ergmonkey]

By the way, anybody else think the spattered blood theme on Cav's new bike is in slightly poor taste after his little Tour de Suisse incident?

 

[Franklin]

So to summarise he wins races, makes money for his team-mates, and creates publicity for his sponsors....

Absolutely... I never said or will say that Cav is a bad for a team (or domestiques). I just say that he is unlikable and that it could be much better if he got a good media-training.

And while it's possible that he is a decent guy in private, what he himself has shown (unsolicited) in interviews makes it less than evident. That his teammates and other connected people like him is because he is a winner. And in the end that is what counts.

 

[Franklin]

So to summarise he wins races, makes money for his team-mates, and creates publicity for his sponsors....

Absolutely... I never said or will say that Cav is a bad for a team (or domestiques). I just say that he is unlikable and that it could be much better if he got a good media-training.

And while it's possible that he is a decent guy in private, what he himself has shown (unsolicited) in interviews makes it less than evident. That his teammates and other connected people like him is because he is a winner. And in the end that is what counts.

 

[Sydney Sider]

Yeah, not like an Aussie sportsman eh? You would never see Warnie or Ponting behaving like that

Like I said at least he didn't headbut the camera or even his fellow Australian rider like another sprinter...

Well see this is where you lose your argument , I cant stand Ponting cause he is an arrogant twit and i never liked Warne until i met him in person and my opinion changed, im sorry to disappoint you but i call a spade a spade i dont care if they are from my home country, if i feel someone is coming across as a twit .

What has Warne and Ponting got to do with Cav anyway? What point are you trying to make . Do you think im an Aussie fanboy who just hate brits or something , well your Wrong.

 

[Hawkwood]

Absolutely... I never said or will say that Cav is a bad for a team (or domestiques). I just say that he is unlikable and that it could be much better if he got a good media-training.

And while it's possible that he is a decent guy in private, what he himself has shown (unsolicited) in interviews makes it less than evident. That his teammates and other connected people like him is because he is a winner. And in the end that is what counts.

I take your point about media-training, but does that risk him becoming yet another media packaged `star' whose words are made up for him by `advisors'? There was a documentary recently in the UK that showed that `quotes' from stars, and controversies involving them were often completely made up by their media advisors for feeding into the papers.

 

[Franklin]

I take your point about media-training, but does that risk him becoming yet another media packaged `star' whose words are made up for him by `advisors'? There was a documentary recently in the UK that showed that `quotes' from stars, and controversies involving them were often completely made up by their media advisors for feeding into the papers.

I very much doubt his remarks about Greipel were made by a spin doctor.

The bottom line is that he as long as he doesn't take it back (granted, he did make a blanket apology of a sort) I dislike him. And that won't change a thing. He will keep on winning and be popualr. It's just that I won't like him.

 

[Sasquatch]

Well see this is where you lose your argument , I cant stand Ponting cause he is an arrogant twit and i never liked Warne until i met him in person and my opinion changed, im sorry to disappoint you but i call a spade a spade i dont care if they are from my home country, if i feel someone is coming across as a twit .

What has Warne and Ponting got to do with Cav anyway? What point are you trying to make . Do you think im an Aussie fanboy who just hate brits or something , well your Wrong.

Yep. Ponting is the most arrogant, self centred twit in Australia.

 

[Hawkwood]

I very much doubt his remarks about Greipel were made by a spin doctor.

I wasn't saying they were, just that do we want our `stars' to speak via spin doctors, or do we want to hear their own words warts and all? I live in a country where the media is full of the words of media advisors and spin doctors speaking on behalf of so called `stars'.

 

[TRDean]

I'm not a fan of Cav. I do respect his sprinting ability and no doubt he is amazing...but I do not like his personal attitude. Call me a hater if you will...I really don't care. Respect for others is paramount for a great person...the whole Greipel incident, the spitting incident...they are not the acts of a great person. A great sprinter yes.

It is also media spin regarding his win yesterday. So he threw up his arms and cried...YEA!! Good for him. It was a beautiful win. But he is the same guy...he has not changed. There is just something different about him when compared to Peta, Dean, even McEwen. When someone is 25 years old, their spots usually don't change...and requiring a media person to follow you around so you don't trip on your own tongue is laughable.

Why is it that when Cav wins it is total emotion he is showing and all the commentators bring it up...but when others win you don't hear nearly the same **** and bull??