Teams & Riders Mark Cavendish Discussion Thread

[oldcrank]

Awesome jump. Amazing acceleration. Incredible timing.

 

[JibberJim]

I think the more impressive thing was actually the final hill which he got up still in the top few of the bunch and whilst Wiggins etc. didn't ride it flat out, you've got to think Roche and LL Sanchez weren't far off bridging to the break and they only took 10seconds. His climbing can't be that crap on the 7-8 minute climb that Box will be, only 4-5 of those on any real sort of gradient.

 

[piemonster]

Wow, just wow! That was one of the most impressive sprints I have seen in a long time. Cav is just a cut above the rest when it comes to a flat run to the line.the look on Luis Leon's face was priceless, especially when he pulled up and looked around, probably expecting to be swamped by the other sprinters but only saw daylight and then realised he had just thrown second place away.

I'm sure though that the naysayers will still have some reason to play it down...like the other sprinters were caught out, weren't ready, were still having lunch....

They can say what they like about the other sprinters being caught out, boxed in, etc etc.

But part of a Sprinters job is to NOT get caught out and be in the right place at the right time

 

[Nocontest]

They can say what they like about the other sprinters being caught out, boxed in, etc etc.

But part of a Sprinters job is to NOT get caught out and be in the right place at the right time

Damn right it is and he is the best at doing it. If you look at the finish though, the green edge guys tried to get on to him but he just smoked them by pure speed.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

I don't want to see talented riders like Stybar, Trentin, Kwiatkowski, Iljo Keisse, Stijn Vandenbergh, etc being wasted on riding in Cav's train. Cav consumes too much team-mates. QS wants a GT team for the future; they have no use for Cav anymore. He's too much of high maintenance. He blew his chances.

@inrng
L'Equipe links Cavendish with a move to Omega-Quickstep

 

[maltiv]

@inrng
L'Equipe links Cavendish with a move to Omega-Quickstep

Isn't he on a 3 year contract with Sky?

Would be logical for him to buy it out though, considering how little help he is getting there. Almost every other team would give him 5-6 dedicated domestiques, instead of 1,5.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

@inrng
L'Equipe links Cavendish with a move to Omega-Quickstep

Please let it be true.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

Isn't he on a 3 year contract with Sky?

Would be logical for him to buy it out though, considering how little help he is getting there. Almost every other team would give him 5-6 dedicated domestiques, instead of 1,5.

In might be in Sky's interest to let him go. It would depend on what they want to focus on. If they want to concentrate on GT wins then not having to support him would be in their interest.

However, Cav is the nearest thing you can get to stage win certainty at the moment and will always generate publicity which must be a plus for sponsors.

 

[spalco]

In might be in Sky's interest to let him go. It would depend on what they want to focus on. If they want to concentrate on GT wins then not having to support him would be in their interest.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, especially if Froome stays. Because if nothing else, he's earned the right to get a dedicated team for either Giro or Vuelta, whichever he prefers. And Cav deserves a real train.

 

[S2Sturges]

But he's got a hot girlfriend.
Edit to add the depreciation: Too hot for a man of his looks.

Yeah, definitely punching above his weight, but he's still a knob...

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I get the impression from Rob Hayles on Eurosport that Cav wants out of Sky. He is very close friends with Cav and I think he has even been involved with his training this year. He went on to say that if Cav wants to continue to win stages in the Tour like before then Sky is not the team for him.

Yep, it wasn't very subtle.

Good news, hope they don't stand in his way. I'm already disappointed Brailsford tried to sign him in the first place - when you know you can't provide the support he deserves and other teams would happily have given, it was a dereliction of his broader duty to British cycling to sign him.

 

[El Pistolero]

Please let it be true.

QS wants him, I don't know about Cav though.

Problem for Cav is that Zdenek Bakala wants a GC team for next year. And the man has a lot of money...

 

[will10]

I get the impression from Rob Hayles on Eurosport that Cav wants out of Sky. He is very close friends with Cav and I think he has even been involved with his training this year. He said that if Cav wants to continue to win stages in the Tour like before then Sky is not the team for him and went on to say that he does'nt know if Cav will be still be there next year.

Hayles does a lot of motor pacing for Cav, regularly spotted in the Cheshire area

 

[Michele]

Both italian Eurosport and Rai said that Sky and Cav might find an agreement for terminate his contract earlier.

 

[lanternrouge]

Both italian Eurosport and Rai said that Sky and Cav might find an agreement for terminate his contract earlier.

It would be in both their interests so probably will never happen!

 

[Bernie's eyesore]

Both italian Eurosport and Rai said that Sky and Cav might find an agreement for terminate his contract earlier.

If Cav wants to leave and Sky want him to leave there shouldn't be a problem. OPQS would be a great move for both parties as their Grand Tour results have been dire this year and because they have a fantastic leadout team already in place including many ex HTC teammates. Also, what a great third last man Chavanel could make.

 

[burning]

I'd say San Remo 2009 and this one are equally his best. Really impressive today.

I still dont get how he won MSR 2009

 

[King Of The Wolds]

Sky could find a way to keep them all happy next year...

"Brad, we want you to defend P-N first. But great riders achieve different things, so how's about you go win the Giro? You've proven you can do the really hard stages and really steep stuff. We'll give you Richie, Mick, Stan and Christian. It will be no problem. You won't be able to defend yellow, but you can still go to the Tour to help Cav and win the TTs. That will give you chance to build up again and be fresh for the World ITT. You really need those rainbow bands."

"Froomey, you need to get a GT on your palmares. Once you've done that, there'll be no stopping you. The Tour might be difficult, because Bertie's back and the guys on the CN Forum say the sun shines out of his backside. So you're going to La Vuelta. You'll be leader there this time, so it should be a formality and we'll give you those Colombian climbing goats. We'll keep you busy in the spring though - you're made for the Ardennes. LBL has got your name on it."

"Cav. GW/MSR in the spring, and it's your turn for leadership at the Tour. You can have your pick of our big rouleurs and fast men - Stannard, EBH, Hayman, Thomas, Flecha, Sutton - they're yours. Six more stage wins and you're well on your way to Eddie's all time record."

Maybe.

 

[Caruut]

I think OPQS would be the perfect fit. With Boonen's sprint declining somewhat (not a crack at Boonen, I think he should win the Velo d'Or this year) they don't have either a great sprinter or a guy worthy of leading a GC team at the Tour de France. The strong classics squad that is focused around Boonen in the spring would be good as a break-chasing unit, all he's missing is a dedicated leadout man. Boonen would ride the Vuelta to compete there/prepare for a suitable Worlds race - he has far too much quality to ever be a leadout man. Perhaps Mark Renshaw would be open to going back to Cav's side - I genuinely think Renshaw got more prestige for being the #1 leadout guy than like the #10 sprinter.

The only stumbling block is his 3-year contract. On the subject of that contract, does anyone have a source for it?

 

[asdfgh101]

Next year the TDF will have a more mountainous route. I expect Wiggins and Froome to be announced as co-captains.

Imagine this team: Wiggins, Froome, Henao, Porte, Rogers, Siutsou, EBH, Thomas, Stannard

Compare this to a squad which tries to accommodate Cavendish. We can only theorise but i expect Cavendish to take a break after the Olympics before riding the Tour of Britain and then announcing his move to another squad.

Sky will aim for GC in Grand Tours and stage races (with non tt stage wins courtesy of versatile riders being a bonus) as well as good performances in big one day races.

It sounds logical at least

 

[mscaviy2601]

I don't see why Cav can't fulfill his stage win dreams at Sky. He could have three wins in this tour and that's after two crashes and narrowly losing one stage to Sagan. If everything had gone perfectly, he might have won six stages.

It all depends on whether he wants to win green jerseys - that might be less likely at Sky but I suspect his real target is the stage win record and that doesn't seem to be that adversely affected by being at Sky.

Geraint Thomas would be a welcome return too, he's a better leadout guy than EBH.

 

[spalco]

I don't see why Cav can't fulfill his stage win dreams at Sky. He could have three wins in this tour and that's after two crashes and narrowly losing one stage to Sagan. If everything had gone perfectly, he might have won six stages.

It all depends on whether he wants to win green jerseys - that might be less likely at Sky but I suspect his real target is the stage win record and that doesn't seem to be that adversely affected by being at Sky.

Geraint Thomas would be a welcome return too, he's a better leadout guy than EBH.

Cav will always get wins here and there unless something drastic happens or a "new big thing" suddenly shows up in the peloton. But the question is how many.

Had there still been an HTC team this year, Cavendish would have very likely won 5 or 6 stages in this Tour imo.

 

[Don't be late Pedro]

Pretty impressive of Cav to finish both the Giro and Tour. I for one thought he would quit the Tour if he had no chance of green.

The Champs-Élysées could prove to be interesting as the main sprinters should all get trains of a varying degree including Cav. André Greipel has been mighty impressive so far so could be a nice showdown between the two. GreenEdge will also be looking for something to take away and a stage win there would make up for their lack of results so I expect them to be strong.

Throw in Sagan and, of course, an attempted breakaway by Vino

Given how good Cav looked on Friday, barring crashes, I would have to go with him. Not exactly the boldest of predictions I know...

 

[orangerider]

He needs to change teams. Wiggins and Froome make it incompatible for Cavendish to remain. Cavendish can certainly be a another green jersey winner for years to come, but he needs to achieve it differently than someone like Sagan. Pure trains will bump him to get the stage wins he needs to get the points. This really has been a "vacation" year for Cavendish; he needs to have a team built around him else he may end up withering away his talent, similar to Cancellara.

 

[MartinGT]

If Cav does leave early I would laugh. When he and Wiggo were *****ing on Twitter early in the season re them going for Green & Yellow isnt difficult and not impossible.