Teams & Riders Mark Cavendish Discussion Thread

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King Boonen

King Boonen

Jul 25, 2012
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red_flanders said:
I think the record of 34 really puts a tiny part of what Merckx did into perspective. The best sprinter of the era hasn't even been able to match his number of wins in the Tour. This is while he was winning 5 Tours, the Maillot Pois, the green jersey...just...staggering what he did, really.
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I don’t think it’s really a good comparison. A lot of EMs wins were TTs and racing was different then. No one thinks Cav is as accomplished a cyclist as Merckx, but it’s pretty remarkable a modern day sprinter could get close to that record.
 
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Amazinmets87

May 12, 2015
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Manx Felipe said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Cav gets to 34 and stops because he respects cycling and the greats of the sport, but records are there to be broken and if he were to equal or even surpass it, then given what he has been through the last few years and the different generations of sprinters he has been up against through his career, it would be a remarkable achievement and I reckon Eddy Merckx would be the first to congratulate him.
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I can't imagine sponsors would be thrilled if a rider stopped competing for wins mid-GT.
 
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perico

perico

Mar 11, 2009
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I think today is a fitting end to the argument over who is the greatest sprinter.

I was not a Cavendish fan, but over the years he grew on me, partly because he has been written off time and time again. I remember at one point, everyone thought Kittel would dominate over him, but as great as Kittel was, Cavendish kept winning until all of a sudden, he didn’t. He was washed up. 36 year old sprinters just don’t dominate like Cav did today. Yeah Ewan is out, but I doubt he would’ve beaten Cav today. That was seriously impressive.
 
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dgodave

May 23, 2009
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Biggut said:
I never understood this view of Cav as entitled. I will never forget the interview after his 2011 World Champs win. He not only talked about the 7 other guys on the team. He thanked all of the riders who had busted their nuts chasing the points all season to get GB 8 riders in the race. He’s always been a humble guy thankful for those around him.
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Yeah I think I can appreciate this in hindsight. But at the time there were some appearances where he seemed just really....whiny. May have been pure chance that I saw those instead of others. Thats a problem re famous people. It easy to develop an impression on partial information.
 
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BigMatBeeston

Mar 22, 2015
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Cav's job is winning bike races. He is very good at it. Arguably the best ever in terms of road races.

Problem?

Not for me.

Hugely entertaining, relented, dedicated and very very fast.
 
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PremierAndrew

PremierAndrew

May 9, 2014
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You know what, I was trying not to get too excited, but today was one of Cav's most impressive wins

Even in his best years, he was a slow starter at the tour. He'd miss out on a few opportunities and then fire away.

Today he won the first stage where he was in the peloton for a sprint.

He surfed the wheels, didn't get a perfect leadout

Got blocked during his sprint and had to kick again

Won on an uphill sprint. Cav's biggest advantage is his aero profile whilst sprinting, his power/power-to-weight isn't as high as a lot of other sprinters. Uphill sprint is a big disadvantage to Cav

Won by a bike length over everyone else still in contention

There's so much that was impressive about today. He blew everyone out of the water
 
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red_flanders

red_flanders

Apr 3, 2009
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King Boonen said:
I don’t think it’s really a good comparison. A lot of EMs wins were TTs and racing was different then. No one thinks Cav is as accomplished a cyclist as Merckx, but it’s pretty remarkable a modern day sprinter could get close to that record.
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Not really a comparison in the way you suggest. Just puts Merckx in perspective since it's much easier or at least more common for sprinters to rack up huge win totals. That Merckx did it in TT's, sprints, mountain stages, random stages where he went bananas...his records are truly incredible.

Cav's accomplishment is great. There's no part of me that thinks they are comparable, that's my point.
 
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red_flanders

red_flanders

Apr 3, 2009
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Manx Felipe said:
I wouldn't be surprised if Cav gets to 34 and stops because he respects cycling and the greats of the sport, but records are there to be broken and if he were to equal or even surpass it, then given what he has been through the last few years and the different generations of sprinters he has been up against through his career, it would be a remarkable achievement and I reckon Eddy Merckx would be the first to congratulate him.
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There's no part of me or my post that wants to diminish what Cav has done. It's a great win and a great story. I'm happy for him. Just another perspective on it. Merckx was on another planet. I don't know if people today (to anyone reading this, not you) really appreciate how dominant he was. He won EVERYTHING, all the time. People freaking hated him then. Can you imagine that kind of dominance now? Amazing.
 
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red_flanders

red_flanders

Apr 3, 2009
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perico said:
I think today is a fitting end to the argument over who is the greatest sprinter.

I was not a Cavendish fan, but over the years he grew on me, partly because he has been written off time and time again. I remember at one point, everyone thought Kittel would dominate over him, but as great as Kittel was, Cavendish kept winning until all of a sudden, he didn’t. He was washed up. 36 year old sprinters just don’t dominate like Cav did today. Yeah Ewan is out, but I doubt he would’ve beaten Cav today. That was seriously impressive.
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We should remember how many Tours Cippolini didn't get invited to because...French teams, apparently.
 
Cookster15

Cookster15

May 14, 2011
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red_flanders said:
There's no part of me or my post that wants to diminish what Cav has done. It's a great win and a great story. I'm happy for him. Just another perspective on it. Merckx was on another planet. I don't know if people today (to anyone reading this, not you) really appreciate how dominant he was. He won EVERYTHING, all the time. People freaking hated him then. Can you imagine that kind of dominance now? Amazing.
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Yeh, he was a little before my time but anyone who checks his record on Wiki will see Merckx was definitely on another planet. The only GC type riders around today who can sprint and climb are WvA and to a lessor extent Valverde (only out sprints other climbers and GC riders).

But I am really happy for Cav! With professional sports there are always hater fans but real champions don’t let that crap bother them. Cavendish is a true champion.
 
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SHAD0W93

SHAD0W93

Aug 13, 2011
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oldcrank said:
Regardless of how beautiful this latest win is, can it compare to Cav's historic fourth consecutive win on the Champs in 2012 while wearing the Rainbows and being led out by Sir Brad in Yellow? A question for the ages, I guess.
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09, 11, and 12 Champs, 16 stage 1, and this are definitely the most beautiful and biggest wins/stories.
A brilliant 1 2 for a dominant Tour by so much there should have been a time gap. Finally winning green jersey in 2011. 2012 as you said. On Normandy beating the Germans when he was written off. Now this, in No Mans Land for 4 years and completely written off.
 
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