Teams & Riders Mark Cavendish Discussion Thread

[SHAD0W93]

It was clear at Scheldeprijs that Sam Bennett peaked at Paris Nice so Cav must be selected for the Tour de France team ahead of him.

*** it, I'm down for that.

Could you imagine if he gets 5 stage wins.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Brilliant to see him win again, even as a huge Cav fan you wonder if he’d ever get back to this competitive level.

I think he enjoyed that one!

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1381574993486749697

View: https://twitter.com/teamisraelsun/status/1381574993486749697?s=21

 

[jmdirt]

Congrats Cav!

 

[OldCranky]

Meh...he's done. But I admire his desire to keep fighting. At some point, get an outlet, stay in the game with a team as a coach, being a shadow of his former self may hurt his legacy.

He's won 48 individual stages in Grand Tours, before you even mention MSR, 6 podiums (3 wins) at Scheldeprijs, the WC road race and numerous other wins. He could roll up on a tandem wearing a Ronald McDonald outfit and not 'hurt his legacy' - nothing that he might do now affects what he's already done.

 

[Red Rick]

Boy I really, really dislike the "continuing hurts his legacy" argument. It's sad if an athlete can't compete anymore, is flailing and is miserable. But that does not change the past at all.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Boy I really, really dislike the "continuing hurts his legacy" argument. It's sad if an athlete can't compete anymore, is flailing and is miserable. But that does not change the past at all.

Especially coming back from injury and sickness on top of us aging. We can't all be like Federer, Valverde, or Brady.

 

[Volderke]

Fact is: his legacy is so big that even his competitors are happy to see him win, and are proud to share the podium photo with him, whether he's on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd step.
He's a legend and he has nothing to prove, his only goal for the rest of his career is the pursuit of happiness.

 

[Red Rick]

Especially coming back from injury and sickness on top of us aging. We can't all be like Federer, Valverde, or Brady.

Wouldn't know those guys haven't retired yet either.

Tennis fans will generally say Sampras had the perfect ending, but I can't find a more legendary ending than Zinedine Zidane.

 

[Salvarani]

He lost many years of his career to injuries and health issues, so this is great to see. A very inspiring story really.

 

[SHAD0W93]

He lost many years of his career to injuries and health issues, so this is great to see. A very inspiring story really.

His 2014 crash while all his fault, definitely caused him to miss out on wins during 14 and 15 TDF. He could have won a couple in 14 and the crash made him and Quickstep start their train WAY to early in 15 and he started his sprints early trying to force the win allowing Greipel and Lotto to capitalize. He even highlighted how he was feeling with how Greipel was in 16.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Really happy for the guy. I love seeing a great champion start winning again long after he is supposed to be finished.

 

[spalco]

Great job, Cavendish! I'm very glad for him.

One more Tour stage win, how amazing would that be, after everything he's been through?

 

[Hayabusa]

It's fantastic to see Cav getting back to winning ways. A man clearly still passionate about cycling and the greatest pure sprinter of all time.

 

[jmdirt]

Congrats X2 Cav!

 

[Red Rick]

Damn so sad Cav keeps hurting his legacy

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Damn so sad Cav keeps hurting his legacy

You're talking about Greipel's, right?

 

[pink_jersey]

"If we can get a sprint win for all the different guys, that'd make me the most proud."

That's selfless.

 

[Ranagazoo]

I'll admit to being one of his doubters, was convinced he'd never win a bike race again. Happy to be proven wrong, well done Cav!

 

[Amazinmets87]

Great job, Cavendish! I'm very glad for him.

One more Tour stage win, how amazing would that be, after everything he's been through?

I'm relatively naive in regards to sprinters. Has he demonstrated sufficient power to win a Tour stage?

 

[spalco]

I'm relatively naive in regards to sprinters. Has he demonstrated sufficient power to win a Tour stage?

Who knows, but this is something. Enough to let fans be hopeful again for him anyways.

I always thought his problems were more mental than physical (although strong legs can make a rider's mind stronger too I think), maybe DQS really helped him with that.

 

[King Boonen]

I'm relatively naive in regards to sprinters. Has he demonstrated sufficient power to win a Tour stage?

Philipsen is no joke, but he is young and still developing. Based on this, and having no idea what kind of form either of them is really in, it's hard to say, but I would tend towards yes if everything goes his way.

 

[Bonimenier]

I'm relatively naive in regards to sprinters. Has he demonstrated sufficient power to win a Tour stage?

With Morkov as his leadout it's probably not impossible. But with Bennett in the team there is no way he'll ride the Tour this year, and I'm not sure DQS is going to focus all that much on sprints in the Tour in the upcoming years with Evenepoel there.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Gotta hand it to Cavendish and Deceuninck–Quick-Step.

 

[yaco]

Cavendish may be a chance to ride the Vuelta as his GT in 2021 - Tour is an impossibility, while the Giro is very doubtful.

 

[Tobi]

It’s crazy his only 4 tour stage wins away from Merckxs record.