follow up to Farrar's comments on Cavendish

[lilyprotector]

We had a lot of back and forth on the stage post yesterday about what Farrar was referring to. I had originally said I thought he was accusing Cavendish of doping, but after seeing the extended video that showed Farrar ranting about how Cav shouldn't have been in the race, I now agree with those who thought he was referring to car-pulling.

For those who were following this topic, there was an interview with Tyler today where he said that his comments were due to frustration and "at the end of the day, HTC did a perfect sprint and nailed it. It was just a dumb thing to say." When asked why people made inferences about Mark, Farrar said it's because he's the top sprinter in the world and "people are looking for reasons to doubt it. I fell into the trap a little bit too."

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43807261#43807261

Maybe more surprising there was an interview with Cav where he was asked about Tyler's comments, and he was quite gracious (let's be honest, I half expected him to rip Tyler a new one). He said it was a "misinterpretation of what Tyler said." He said the media were always looking to create stories and that suggestions that he didn't ride fair were most disrespectful to his teammates who had to drag him back to the group. He talks about how hard his team worked to get him back etc.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/43807261#43807764

Ahhh, peace in the peloton ....

 

[Anonymous]

I for one was proud of Cav today. He handled all of the talk like a sportsman and went out and let his legs answer. Even if there was a grab here or there, he showed today that he could drop every single person posting on this forum on a mountain stage, so maybe we should put this controversy to bed.

 

[lilyprotector]

I for one was proud of Cav today. He handled all of the talk like a sportsman and went out and let his legs answer.

sportsman is the perfect word. i was also really proud of his interview and his gracious response.

 

[Ragerod]

I think this saga has been good for Cavendish. It shows that when the adrenaline is flowing all sprinters are prone to saying something stupid but Cavendish gets many more opportunities than his competitors and that he isn't always the person the post-race interviews imply.

Hopefully the footage of Eisel and Cavendish puts to bed the argument that there is no evidence of him holding onto cars because a camera isn't there and it's one big conspiracy theory; but I doubt it.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Farrar does not say that it is not true. He just says that he should not have said anything and that he did not personally witness what everyone knows happened. It sounds like omerta at work.

 

[pedaling squares]

I for one was proud of Cav today. He handled all of the talk like a sportsman and went out and let his legs answer. Even if there was a grab here or there, he showed today that he could drop every single person posting on this forum on a mountain stage, so maybe we should put this controversy to bed.

Well put. I'll give one thing to ol' Cav, he sure can answer his critics. He can't get over the Poggio with the leaders, he can't win without his train, he can't get over the mountains by himself... sometimes he just leaves it to his legs and his heart to prove others wrong. And today it made no sense to do what he did, but he did it anyway which I thought was very impressive in a FU kind of way.

Still think he hung on the car the other day though!

 

[Anonymous]

Well put. I'll give one thing to ol' Cav, he sure can answer his critics. He can't get over the Poggio with the leaders, he can't win without his train, he can't get over the mountains by himself... sometimes he just leaves it to his legs and his heart to prove others wrong. And today it made no sense to do what he did, but he did it anyway which I thought was very impressive in a FU kind of way.

Still think he hung on the car the other day though!

I have a love/hate relationship with Cav. Some days I love to hate him, some days I just hate him, and a minority of days I love the guy. I think he probably hung on to some cars for dear life, but after today's ride, I forgive him. I just hope he didn't hurt his chances Thursday.

 

[JohnNordin]

Er, hold on a second. Tyler was faster than Cav at the end, it was Cav's team who set him up better than Tyler's team. On an even start Tyler would have won.

Sprinting maybe should be a team award. HTC is very, very good at what they do. But I didn't see any unfairness in what they did.

 

[boardhanger]

Tyler said it was a heat of the moment statement. He's obviously tired mentally and I don't blame him, for that. Its what LeTour does to you. Cav has a great team around him. Garmin is a team with a multi-spearheaded attitude way of winning. Asked me who's impressed more this Tour? Garmin of course. Tyler faces a few tough days untill Champs-Elysees sprint and i'm doubting if he's metally ready for these mountain stages, so don't be suprise to see him leave.

 

[AussieGoddess]

yeah Cav is the winner out of this.

He has shown more grace and poise than I thought him capable of.

I still dont like him - but I dislike him a bit less now IYKWIM

 

[boardhanger]

I dont hate him or love him. He is what he is, and has quite a palmares. Farrar was upset and Cav is at his best when being attacked in the media. His legs do the talking.

 

[kjetilraknerud]

Bernie Eisel is a Cav-pulling machine on mountain stages, could Farrar have mistaken him for a car?

 

[woodie]

Farrar does not say that it is not true. He just says that he should not have said anything and that he did not personally witness what everyone knows happened. It sounds like omerta at work.

Move on man, your just grasping at straws now

 

[bhilden]

I interviewed Cavendish on the second rest day at the 2009 Tour. His book, Boy Racer, had just come out and I asked him if there was anything in the book about his personality that we didn't see on TV.

His response was, "the public only sees me at the end of a sprint finish. If I win I am happy. If I lose I am angry. There are a lot more facets to my personality than that."

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Move on man, your just grasping at straws now

When multiple riders all accuse Cav of doing the same thing then chances are it is true, especially when he has been caught doing it before.

No where in Tyler's supposed apology does he say it is not true. He just mumbles on about how he should not have said anything.

 

[woodie]

When multiple riders all accuse Cav of doing the same thing then chances are it is true, especially when he has been caught doing it before.

No where in Tyler's supposed apology does he say it is not true. He just mumbles on about how he should not have said anything.

When was he caught before? I'd love to see the pictures or video. Farrar said he was frustrated, and that lead to him saying stupid things. Lets see, two of the riders are from the same team (funny that) and can't beat him and Farrar admitted he was frustrated and didn't mean in, some great evidence there.

He has a camera, plus a commasaire with him plus 3 teammates to pace him back on. All this is is people trying to beat him off the bike because they can't beat him on it and the media hyping something up for a story

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

The dude was caught cheating before. You have to assume he would do it again.

 

[woodie]

The dude was caught cheating before. You have to assume he would do it again.

Again, when? and where is your evidence? When was he caught hanging onto cars? Please enlighten me

 

[enrecul]

What's cavs problem getting over mountains anyway? He is not exactly the biggest guy in the peloton. Is he just a ***** when it comes to suffering?

 

[lanternrouge]

Again, when? and where is your evidence? When was he caught hanging onto cars? Please enlighten me

You will not get any sense or evidence from this person they obviously have an agenda about cavendish and will listen to no reason.

 

[L'arriviste]

I interviewed Cavendish on the second rest day at the 2009 Tour. His book, Boy Racer, had just come out and I asked him if there was anything in the book about his personality that we didn't see on TV.

His response was, "the public only sees me at the end of a sprint finish. If I win I am happy. If I lose I am angry. There are a lot more facets to my personality than that."

Did Cavendish really use the word "facets"?

 

[woodie]

You will not get any sense or evidence from this person they obviously have an agenda about cavendish and will listen to no reason.

Yeah good point. Their loss

 

[greenedge]

It sure gave Cav some incentive.

 

[Mellow Velo]

The dude was caught cheating before. You have to assume he would do it again.

Where? When? What punishment did the commisairs hand out?
No?
Then don't quote your unsubstantiated opinion, as fact, especially when trying to give credence an assumption.

A much more reasoned and sporting response than one would have expected from Cav.

 

[Astana1]

Where? When? What punishment did the commisairs hand out?
No?
Then don't quote your unsubstantiated opinion, as fact, especially when trying to give credence an assumption.

A much more reasoned and sporting response than one would have expected from Cav.

He was penalised in 2009 in the ToC for either motor pacing or hanging on to a car. He was accused of doing it in the Giro this year.

My guess is that there is alot of this going on. But Cav gets slagged the most for doing it because he wins so much. Not a Cav fan myself. I actually really dislike him.