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Hugely depressing article on him on the front page. 'I couldn't be a pro now, I could never hit those numbers'
He's probably onto something. So many not reaching the top or not getting the right roles because of what a test says.
Edit: Actually its on the BBC Website
He's probably onto something. So many not reaching the top or not getting the right roles because of what a test says.
Edit: Actually its on the BBC Website
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Mark Cavendish: The moments that shaped a record-breaking career
The highs and lows of the Manx Missile’s 20-year career, from battling illness and injury to Tour de France supremacy
www.cyclingnews.com
Just TdF I’d have:
2016 stage 1
2021 stage 4
2024 stage 5
2012 stage 18
2011 stage 5
On the reverse end my 5 disappointments with his career:
Not taking Hushovd serious enough in 2009 potentially costing green,
Not continuing his sprint on stage 4 in 2010 when Petacchi blew my him 100 % costing green,
Not racing Vuelta more than twice and picking to race it over Tour of Britain along with showing up out of shape in 2010,
2012 Giro getting crashed out of the sprint by Ferrari on stage 3 or the stage 9 crash not occurring keeping him out of red,
Not racing the Vuelta after the 2014 TdF crash which caused him to start his sprint earlier than usual at the 2015 Tour.
Disagree with your Vuelta 2010 comment. Won 3 stages and points jersey, on the back of 5 Tour stages.
2011 World champs
British champs 2013
TDF 2013 stage 13
British champs 2022
Giro 2023 stage 21
British champs 2013
TDF 2013 stage 13
British champs 2022
Giro 2023 stage 21
And he could have 3-4 more if he was in shape. In his book he talked how he can into the Vuelta under shape and to gain form for the Worlds that year while practicing sprinting from 300+ meters out in case Worlds was a sprint finish due to team Britain believing it’d be a long sprint.
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They're all solid lists, and hard to argue against, but Stage 18 of TdF 2012, must surely be the best sprint in history.
That he helped caused the crash, comments after, or career didn’t fall off the wayside?
Him surviving stage 19 of the 2009 TdF over a 2nd category climb with a 40 man group to win the sprint is also one of his more impressive wins for me.
His swansong TdF win this year will probably remain the most memorable for me though, just because of how unlikely it was.
His swansong TdF win this year will probably remain the most memorable for me though, just because of how unlikely it was.
tagging onto this: i feel his comeback TdF win for quickstep in 2021 must be his most memorable. The whole storyline where he slowly faded, feared that his career was ending at bahrein and then getting a lifeline at QS that year. Love him or hate him that was the storyline of 2021 for me, and boy did it deliver.
Yeah, that was one of the more unexpected phoenix moments in cycling. But I'd say it's more about that season overall. He was already going quite strongly again with Quickstep even before the 2021 Tour. Big respect to him pulling it off, despite him costing me the win in the CQ game that year.
Was 2009 the year of peak Cavendish? His only season with 20+ wins and 9 of those came in grand tours.
I'd have said 2011 was Peak Cav. It was all downhill from there on...
The worlds in particular was the greatest moment in his career. What a performance from Cav & esp the whole team all season long to ensure a full team qualified. They did exactly what needed to be done to deliver Cav to the line.
The worlds in particular was the greatest moment in his career. What a performance from Cav & esp the whole team all season long to ensure a full team qualified. They did exactly what needed to be done to deliver Cav to the line.
You can even expand that storyline to include the last several years.
2020:
Had been fading for years, feared his career was about to end.
2021:
Got the mentioned lifeline with QS, and started winning again. Was unexpectedly selected for the Tour, where he achieved four wins, thus equaling his win-tally to Merckx.
2022:
Was not selected for the Tour, causing some drama among fans who thought Jakobsen being selected instead was unfair.
2023:
Signing with Astana with the expressed goal of achieving that one last TdF stage win that would make him sole holder of the record, announcing his intetion to retire at the end of the year. Getting close to the win, but sadly crashing out the next day.
2024:
Extending his career by one year, to have one last attempt at the Record - and also just to, you know, not finish his last TdF in an ambulance - getting his win, thus beating a record that had stood for several decades.
Receiving the ultimate reward of Knighthood.
Regarding profiles and knowing Cav's strengths and weaknesses I think 2009 stage 19 was great.
I'd have picked his track world gold medal in the madison with Sir Wiggo 2016, just because I was there in person to see it 😀 with a home crowd going absolutely bananas seeing him sprint repeatedly to get the points and the lap and take the win was pretty special.
Even if in the context of his career and other victories it probably wasn't that much
Even if in the context of his career and other victories it probably wasn't that much
Now he's retired it's confession time, during the Caerphilly mountain stage of the tour of Britain,the year Nairo was there, I was leaning out too far with my camara and he caught my shoulder. Fortunately only minor and he didn't glare or curse.
I hang my head in shame.
I hang my head in shame.
Armchair Cyclist
Moderator
Cavendish was the specialised subject of the first contestant on BBC Mastermind tonight: you might be able to track it down on iPlayer.
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