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Teams & Riders Mark Cavendish Discussion Thread

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dobrien

Jul 10, 2009
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perico said:
Today wasn’t some freak thing. Cavendish has still got the straight speed to compete for stages. All his ups and downs have somewhat dampened just how dominant he has always been in sprints when he is at his best. He is older and his reflexes aren’t what they used to be, but he is still extremely fast. What separates him from aging sprinters in the past is that Cavendish has never lost his nerve. Most guys can still ride fast as they age, it’s the deterioration of their other skills and the fact that as they get older, the risks of a sprint finish become more clear.

Cavendish has never lost his nerve in sprints. The crashes that could’ve mentally finished lesser riders didn’t dull his ability to block it out.
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This completely. Watching that overhead shot, if you didn't know it was Cav you would have thought it was some crazy 22 year old or something. That's the part that is really something else, at least to me.
 
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Ripper

Ripper

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perico said:
Today wasn’t some freak thing. Cavendish has still got the straight speed to compete for stages. All his ups and downs have somewhat dampened just how dominant he has always been in sprints when he is at his best. He is older and his reflexes aren’t what they used to be, but he is still extremely fast. What separates him from aging sprinters in the past is that Cavendish has never lost his nerve. Most guys can still ride fast as they age, it’s the deterioration of their other skills and the fact that as they get older, the risks of a sprint finish become more clear.

Cavendish has never lost his nerve in sprints. The crashes that could’ve mentally finished lesser riders didn’t dull his ability to block it out.
Click to expand...
Yes. Not to mention, the speed and physical attributes to win at the end of a stage are not the same as the absolute sprint capacity in either a sprint event or a criterium. It's nerves, but also physical resilience, skill, reading the race.

Cav has never been the straight up 'fastest' per se. But he is the fastest at the end of a lot of races!
 
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proffate

proffate

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Love this slideshow of Cav posterizing several generations of sprinters.

Hushovd, Farrar, Petacchi, Boonen, Greipel, Sagan, Phillipsen, WVA

www.cyclingnews.com

Mark Cavendish and his 35 Tour de France stage wins – Gallery

Looking back on each and every victory that made his name as the race's greatest ever sprinter
www.cyclingnews.com www.cyclingnews.com

Fun fact, he's only won a single stage at the TDF one time (2015). His median number of victories if he wins at least once (which he has done 10 times now) is 4.
 
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