Teams & Riders Mark Cavendish Discussion Thread

[Tonton]

Nothing wrong with it. Cav is like Virenque : stats but not real...

 

[Jspear]

Re:

Wow did he look in bad shape. I don’t know....maybe it is time to hang it up. Maybe see this season through and see if it’s still worth it.

He’s only got a couple of years left when it comes to winning at the top. He’s a pro. He’ll be fine. This last crash was strange. It wasn’t even while competing in a sprint.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Plus he has awhile before 2020. More then enough time to get 35 TDF wins and beat Merckx GT stage win total.

I hope that he never gets to 34. As good as he is (was, actually), he doesn't deserve to be in any discussion involving Merckx. No disrespect here, but let's be real.

I don't think that he's one of the 5, or maybe 10 best sprinters in the World anymore. I'm not sure that he can win another stage. No more super train, in decline, he stands just about the same chances as Nacer. There will always be at least one guy faster than he is. Unless he takes crazy risks, even more than he did in his prime: desperate people do desperate things, and that's how you crash.

I hope he does because he is my favorite rider right now and who brought me into cycling in 09. Let's say he does beat Merckx's record or ties it, there still shouldn't be a discussion between the 2 because they are totally different. The only comparison should be between him and Cipo and in my opinion he is better.

He showed in 2016 that he can still compete and beat the best. I believe and hope that he can show that same level of performance. 2017 even after being sick and racing almost no days he was still up there and if he wasn't sick he could have won the stages he contested. As of now after his crashes and barely any race days absolutely he isn't in the top 5 but in my opinion he is in top 10. The only people that will be a problem are Kittel, Greipel, and Gav. If he is finally able to get form he can beat anyone.

He has shown he doesn't need a train and with etix he did terrible with their train. He just needs to keep racing which comes to the next point on crashes. Yes some of the crashes are his fault but there is quite a bit of crashes that he gets the blame because of his reputation when they aren't his fault.

Yes he always wants to win and is desperate because of terrible last year he had that is getting into his head this year. Desperation is what led to his crash in 14 with Gerrans and what caused him to only get 1 stage in 15. He is in the same position as Contador with crashing and I hope he gets out of it.

Sorry for the long reply.

Yeah I think Cavendish still has the speed when he peaks. I just hope the crashing won't continue so we'll actually get to see it.

And I disagree about the Merkx record. Nowadays it's always sprinters who win the most GT stages. I don't think there's anything wrong with one of the greatest sprinters of all time breaking that record.

Merkx has about 192 other records

 

[Tonton]

Meh...

To the Cav fans, stick with your guy. That's what true fans do.

For the Merckx record, if MC ties it, between Phil & Paul, newspapers, some here, it will be about tying (or breaking if 35) EM's record. I'll be upset.

The reason why we are here is that we get it. What bothers me is the rest. Cycling "fans" who will buy the "Cav ties Merckx" at face value. Beuaaark...there will be plenty of them, like plenty of idiots in France who think that Virenque and his 7 are the best.

Often, "fans" worship a bit too much, listen to their heart, not their brains. Maybe I'm one f them . Portugal11 will say I am . Except that I will stick with my guy. To me Cav is nowhere near what he used to be, no train, he's like Nacer...a puncher's chance. Will he prove me wrong?

 

[SHAD0W93]

It is dumb that on average people will take it at face value because they don't look at a person's whole career and just focus on the Tour. Just like in America, take my dad who watches cycling, only the Tour, and knows who Merckx is, everything Merckx had on his bike he got for his own, thinks that Armstrong is the best and thought it was weird that Merckx was considered better and that was the mass American outlook.

I'm here because I like ready what you guys write and I'm not able to watch anywhere near what I would like so I watch through everyone else's eyes. Plus everyone here is a lot more knowledgeable than I am, which is why I usually don't write anything.

That's why they are fans. Believe me I root for the people I like even more. You can go back to 2011 or 2012 when I made my predictions for that year and I didn't even get a single one right. Yes, Demare is good and I like him as well and hope he does good when cav isn't racing. I hope cav does prove you wrong.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re: Re:

Plus he has awhile before 2020. More then enough time to get 35 TDF wins and beat Merckx GT stage win total.

I hope that he never gets to 34. As good as he is (was, actually), he doesn't deserve to be in any discussion involving Merckx. No disrespect here, but let's be real.

I don't think that he's one of the 5, or maybe 10 best sprinters in the World anymore. I'm not sure that he can win another stage. No more super train, in decline, he stands just about the same chances as Nacer. There will always be at least one guy faster than he is. Unless he takes crazy risks, even more than he did in his prime: desperate people do desperate things, and that's how you crash.

What a crock of **** :lol:

And considering he's the greatest sprinter the sport has ever seen, taking one of Merckx's records is absolutely justified.

 

[spalco]

I just wish Cavendish can have one more season at his best again (whatever that is anymore); if Kittel, Sagan, etc are just faster now, that's ok. All those crashes, injuries and sicknesses *** suck.

 

[portugal11]

Meh...

To the Cav fans, stick with your guy. That's what true fans do.

For the Merckx record, if MC ties it, between Phil & Paul, newspapers, some here, it will be about tying (or breaking if 35) EM's record. I'll be upset.

The reason why we are here is that we get it. What bothers me is the rest. Cycling "fans" who will buy the "Cav ties Merckx" at face value. Beuaaark...there will be plenty of them, like plenty of idiots in France who think that Virenque and his 7 are the best.

Often, "fans" worship a bit too much, listen to their heart, not their brains. Maybe I'm one f them . Portugal11 will say I am . Except that I will stick with my guy. To me Cav is nowhere near what he used to be, no train, he's like Nacer...a puncher's chance. Will he prove me wrong?

what the hell? cav with one leg is better than your beloved demare. show some respect for the best sprinter of all times.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re: Re:

Plus he has awhile before 2020. More then enough time to get 35 TDF wins and beat Merckx GT stage win total.

I hope that he never gets to 34. As good as he is (was, actually), he doesn't deserve to be in any discussion involving Merckx. No disrespect here, but let's be real.

I don't think that he's one of the 5, or maybe 10 best sprinters in the World anymore. I'm not sure that he can win another stage. No more super train, in decline, he stands just about the same chances as Nacer. There will always be at least one guy faster than he is. Unless he takes crazy risks, even more than he did in his prime: desperate people do desperate things, and that's how you crash.

What a crock of **** :lol:

And considering he's the greatest sprinter the sport has ever seen, taking one of Merckx's records is absolutely justified.

He's not.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

I just wish Cavendish can have one more season at his best again (whatever that is anymore); if Kittel, Sagan, etc are just faster now, that's ok. All those crashes, injuries and sicknesses **** suck.

I agree with this. We really don’t know if he’s past his best. The last time it looked like he might be, he got a clean run at the Tour and won four stages. It’s two years later now. Maybe the speed really has gone. Maybe it hasn’t. Either way I’d like to find out without him being constantly sick or injured.

 

[Red Rick]

Any news on Cav?

 

[perico]

Hopefully his roll saved him from a career threatening injury. I don’t know though. It definitely looked horrible.

 

[Jancouver]

Time to hang the wheels?

While he may still have the speed to win races, I don't think his head is there and it is obvious that he is not as alert as he should be ... hope he is OK as this could be a career-ending injury if not worse.

 

[Cookster15]

Re:

Time to hang the wheels?

While he may still have the speed to win races, I don't think his head is there and it is obvious that he is not as alert as he should be ... hope he is OK as this could be a career-ending injury if not worse.

He's a sprinter, he had been on the limit for 280km, concentration tends to waver when you are on the rivet.

 

[RedheadDane]

Didn't watch the race, but saw a video and... holy ***! :surprised:

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Time to hang the wheels?

While he may still have the speed to win races, I don't think his head is there and it is obvious that he is not as alert as he should be ... hope he is OK as this could be a career-ending injury if not worse.

He's a sprinter, he had been on the limit for 280km, concentration tends to waver when you are on the rivet.

How hard do you think riding on flat roads in a peloton with headwind is?

 

[Cookster15]

Re: Re:

Time to hang the wheels?

While he may still have the speed to win races, I don't think his head is there and it is obvious that he is not as alert as he should be ... hope he is OK as this could be a career-ending injury if not worse.

He's a sprinter, he had been on the limit for 280km, concentration tends to waver when you are on the rivet.

How hard do you think riding on flat roads in a peloton with headwind is?

Okay sure, maybe not on the limit for 280km but I'd put his crash down to fatigue and not simply his age. After all it was a GC guy who won. That would not have occurred had it been 200km and a real flat course.

 

[Jancouver]

Re: Re:

Time to hang the wheels?

While he may still have the speed to win races, I don't think his head is there and it is obvious that he is not as alert as he should be ... hope he is OK as this could be a career-ending injury if not worse.

He's a sprinter, he had been on the limit for 280km, concentration tends to waver when you are on the rivet.

How hard do you think riding on flat roads in a peloton with headwind is?

Okay sure, maybe not on the limit for 280km but I'd put his crash down to fatigue and not simply his age. After all it was a GC guy who won. That would not have occurred had it been 200km and a real flat course.

I never said anything about his age. Not being alert is probably more related to his motivation than his age.

Look, I don't blame him. He has done it all. Already won this race and many others so there is no surprise the "drive" is no longer there.

 

[Robert5091]

Dear Cav, the Universe is trying to tell you something.... get well soon.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Awful early season for Cav, but hopefully he can bounce back a bit.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Bs, great champions have immense mental fortitude, and Cav is one of them.

He will be back

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

That looked horrible. Glad it seems he hasn’t been seriously hurt.

 

[jmdirt]

Re:

He has hit the ground hard several times this year already. Hopefully he can get things rolling because I prefer seeing more teams battling at the front on flat sages.

EDIT: Today was REALLY a scary crash! I'm glad that he is "OK"!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cavendish-suffers-brutal-crash-in-milan-san-remo/

Maybe he is done with hitting the ground for a while...I hope.

 

[Jancouver]

Team update:

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka can confirm that, thankfully, Mark Cavendish sustained no serious injury following a major crash within 10 kilometres of the finish of Milan-Sanremo on Saturday.

The 32-year-old fell heavily after striking a bollard and was immediately assisted by race medical personnel, after which he was taken to a local hospital.

Following medical imaging, it was determined that he avoided major injury in the incident.

He did sustain a new rib fracture (5th) on the same side as the one that he damaged in the opening stage of Tirreno-Adriatico (7th).

He also has bruising and abrasions consistent with the scale of the crash as well as a possible “ligamentous ankle injury” that will require further assessment once he returns home on Saturday.

The team would like to extend a big thanks to everybody who has sent messages of concern; and we will keep you updated as and when, should additional information become available.

 

[Koronin]

He's lucky, it could have been much worse.