• 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!

Feillu has a new fan

Jul 2, 2009
2,392
0
0
Visit site
Libertine Seguros said:
I don't see anything Feillu's said that's wrong here.

"If I can close him off in a sprint, I won't hesitate."


It's not exactly going against Cavendish's assessment of him as a reckless sprinter. None of the proper sprinters will by impressed by such a remark.
 
Mambo95 said:
"If I can close him off in a sprint, I won't hesitate."


It's not exactly going against Cavendish's assessment of him as a reckless sprinter. None of the proper sprinters will by impressed by such a remark.

Yea, cos HTC have never bullied or shoved anybody about in leadouts or sprints.

All Feillu's doing is stating in public what we all know goes on in every sprint. Feillu by his own admission is not in the class of Cavendish in a fair fight; would you try to take on a guy in a fair fight when he has every advantage over you? Not if you want to win. A win-at-all-costs mentality is something Cavendish should recognise and appreciate. After all, Cavendish certainly doesn't like losing. And anyway, if Feillu can get close enough to Cavendish to box him in, something's gone wrong either with Cav's leadout or his sprint.

Until Cavendish stated yesterday that if you asked all the sprinters who causes the most trouble they'd all say Feillu, had you heard much to the effect that Romain Feillu is a dangerous sprinter? Certainly Graeme Brown sprung to my mind first up.
 
Jul 2, 2009
2,392
0
0
Visit site
Libertine Seguros said:
Yea, cos HTC have never bullied or shoved anybody about in leadouts or sprints.

All Feillu's doing is stating in public what we all know goes on in every sprint. Feillu by his own admission is not in the class of Cavendish in a fair fight; would you try to take on a guy in a fair fight when he has every advantage over you?

If you'd been accused of being a reckless sprinter, would you then go and tell the press that you 'won't hesitate' to deliberately block another rider (an illegal move)?

HTC may muscle and shove others, but there's an acceptable line which the teams all know. They all give as good as they get.

It's not smart to say such things. He's basically confirming what Cav said. The rest of the top sprinters will side with Cav on this point - there's a certain trust between them. Feillu is more likely to see himself blocked out than doing any blocking himself.
 
Mambo95 said:
If you'd been accused of being a reckless sprinter, would you then go and tell the press that you 'won't hesitate' to deliberately block another rider (an illegal move)?

HTC may muscle and shove others, but there's an acceptable line which the teams all know. They all give as good as they get.

It's not smart to say such things. He's basically confirming what Cav said. The rest of the top sprinters will side with Cav on this point - there's a certain trust between them. Feillu is more likely to see himself blocked out than doing any blocking himself.

It will be interesting to see. I'm not so sure everybody will side with Cav because Cavendish has done his fair share of making himself unpopular, but I don't think it's smart from Feillu to announce it publicly.

As for "giving as good as they get", who else gave as good as Mark Renshaw gave Julian Dean and Tyler Farrar last year? HTC are the best sprinters' train, because they have the best engines, and they're willing to do the dirty work and play by the edge of the rules if they have to.

Other people have to play by the edge of the rules if they want to compete. Cav is a sore loser and deserves to be called out on it, but Feillu isn't being very clever here.

If he's successful in his ploy and gets called out on it, Cavendish has a cry and a moan and his equally insufferable fans cry and moan with him.

If he's successful in his ploy and doesn't get called out on it, then he'll be the subject of some rough treatment himself, probably from Renshaw, since he tends to be the most hot-headed of HTC's guys in that respect, and it will open the door for all manner of tiresome conspiracy theories about the Frenchman getting away with ruining Cav's race.

If he fails in his ploy, he just looks like an idiot.
 
if i was a sprinter i would try not to bother renshaw the guy is a beast, not only can he keep a high speed for a long time he can also go across the peloton to get position like a hot knife through butter and then he defends said position using everything he can. i don't think feillu will have a good experience messing with those guys. but props for trying
 
Jul 2, 2009
2,392
0
0
Visit site
Libertine Seguros said:
As for "giving as good as they get", who else gave as good as Mark Renshaw gave Julian Dean and Tyler Farrar last year?

For a start, Julian Dean himself in the same sprint. He went up there looking for a fight and trying to squeeze Renshaw onto the barriers. This is the way these guys play. (The block on Farrar was worse, but Garmin had hardly but him in a good mood. And isn't Feillu premediatedly saying he's going to try and do exactly the same thing?)).

Libertine Seguros said:
Other people have to play by the edge of the rules if they want to compete. Cav is a sore loser and deserves to be called out on it.

So what if he's a sore loser. Most elite sportsmen are. To quote Vince Lombardi "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser". I play a team sport and I love bad losers - because they care.

As a self confessed HTC hater who refuses to watch sprints, I would expect you to applaud the third rater who wants to endanger people. The ones who are actually doing the sprints will shut him out.
 
Closing somebody off in a sprint does not equal reckless, think of the phrase 'closing the door.' There is also a difference in being 'reckless' in taking chances, and head-butting others in the sprint (something it appears HTC trains for). Feillu is also being respectful, acknowledging Cav's strengths, something I've never seen Cavendish do about anyone.
 
Nov 11, 2010
3,387
1
0
Visit site
Saying it like it is

Seriously, I would love to see the day when someone just beats the crap out of Cavendish so he can keep his mouth shut.
 
Jun 21, 2011
322
0
0
Visit site
I think Feillu simply wants some respect from the best, which I doubt will come any time soon. I'd imagine that Cavendish only views the other top-tier sprinters as competition and the second-tier guys as obstacles that need to be negotiated during the run-in.

Marva32 said:
Closing somebody off in a sprint does not equal reckless, think of the phrase 'closing the door.' There is also a difference in being 'reckless' in taking chances, and head-butting others in the sprint (something it appears HTC trains for). Feillu is also being respectful, acknowledging Cav's strengths, something I've never seen Cavendish do about anyone.

Feillu is being far from respectful. He says Cav's good and then compares him with possibly the most despised man in cycling, Ricco. It's Feillu's attempt to get back at him after being called reckless.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I am not a big defender of Cav (check my posting history for reference), but Roman needs to shut his pie hole and let his legs do the talking if he wants to make this point. If he says he is faster than you, and he is faster than you, well, train harder or something. Making a statement like that makes him more like Cav rather than different in any way.
 
Jul 29, 2009
85
0
0
Visit site
Cav vs. Ricco ??

Come on, Cav can't climb a hill of beans!!!

Feillu sounds a bit bitter.
Cav doesn't hide the fact that he can be a real *** when he wants to be.
But when he wins, he does so cleanly ( most of time, or at least when I'm watching...)

Look for Cav to take French lessons, just so he can tell Feillu where to go on his next vacation!!!
 
Feillu is spot on. And of course you can close someone off in a sprint without breaking the rules or putting anyone in danger, just by being smart (and fast enough). The real issue for Feillu, I suspect, is not so much Cavendish saying he's the best but acting like he's superior to the other sprinters, like the other day when he said Feillu was reckless (don't get me wrong, maybe he was; and Boonen's account seems to imply the same), because like some other sprinters he gives you that vibe that only the very fastest sprinters have a right to sprint for the win.
 
hrotha said:
Feillu is spot on. And of course you can close someone off in a sprint without breaking the rules or putting anyone in danger, just by being smart (and fast enough). The real issue for Feillu, I suspect, is not so much Cavendish saying he's the best but acting like he's superior to the other sprinters, like the other day when he said Feillu was reckless (don't get me wrong, maybe he was; and Boonen's account seems to imply the same), because like some other sprinters he gives you that vibe that only the very fastest sprinters have a right to sprint for the win.

I think by nature most sprinters need to be cocky, arrogant and sore losers. If Feillu is just saying that he is goes to make sure he gives Cav a real fight good for him that's what he's supposed to do but I at 1st thought he was implying that he was planning on going out his way to hinder him. Although Cav has all the characteristics mentioned above I think the jibe about Ricco was just getting his own back about being reckless. I think a comparison between Mario Cipo and Cav is more realistic. It appears incidents like these fire Cav up and make him perform at his best
 
spalco said:
Feillu is a whiny *****. Cavendish is the best and there's nothing wrong with saying that. If that bothers you, go train more and beat him, not cry to the media.

Well, who has eight wins this year already? Feillu.
And who has only four of them? Cav.

Who's on Nr. 23 of the current cq ranking? Feillu.
And who's on Nr. 49? Cav.

Who wore already the Maillot Jaune? Feillu.
Who never wore it? Cav.

'Nuff said.
 
Bye Bye Bicycle said:
Well, who has eight wins this year already? Feillu.
And who has only four of them? Cav.

Who's on Nr. 23 of the current cq ranking? Feillu.
And who's on Nr. 49? Cav.

Who wore already the Maillot Jaune? Feillu.
Who never wore it? Cav.

'Nuff said.

Well no not really. Although I do agree just saying Cav is the best and leaving it at doesn't work. I do think hand picking arguments to fit your case works either. Using your argument u could say he's been better this season although Cav has worked towards the tour so that really remains to be seen. Taking the yellow jersey in a brakeaway doesn't really have any say in wether your a better rider and certainly not sprinter then someone.
 

TRENDING THREADS