DFA123 said:
Billie said:
Bavarianrider said:
Jspear said:
The CN article doesn't say....anyone know how much cheaper he was than Cav?
Why the hell should a way younger, way faster, way better looking and way more charismatic guy be cheaper than Cavendish
Because Cavendish doesn't get dropped on every obstacle harder than a roundabout
I don't think Etixx will care about that at all. They've got more than enough puncheurs who are fast finishers on lumpy terrain and uphill finish. What they need is someone to consistently win dead flat stages - which usually make up about a quarter of TdF stages. Cavendish wasn't cutting it, and for a team with no GC rider, they really need to be challenging on as many individual stages as possible - especially when they are as big as Etixx.
You don't have to make any negative assumptions about either rider to explain the switch, Etixx apparently have a somewhat reduced budget. Kittel had a terrible year and then fell out with his team. Therefore Kittel is available at below his expected value. Cavendish only got one Tour stage, but he also got 14 wins, so while he might well be starting the downward slope of his career, he's not going to take a very large pay cut. Therefore Kittel makes sense, regardless of which rider you'd prefer to have monetary issues aside.
Kittel is a bit of a risk, given that it's not entirely clear what's been wrong with him. But he's young, he's super-fast and is a risk worth taking.