I knew Jimmy Casper was his idol.SHAD0W93 said:Cav and Peta had a baby boy. I didn't even know they were expecting. Hopefully he can win some Tour stages so their new baby can have the lion.
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/mark-cavendish-wife-peta-todd-welcome-baby-boy-389248
A couple of crashes and a bout of mono account for most of the problemValv.Piti said:Funny how such a relatively 'big' rider has been so irrelevant for 2 years now. Not been doing anything apart from crashing. Di Data curse, or just standard pretty unversatile sprinter crashing out of the only races that matters? Then he probably pops up and wins a couple of stage now.
Irrelevant for 2 years seems harsh. Two years ago he won 4 TdF stages, his first yellow jersey, an Olympic silver, Qatar overall, silver in the WCRR and the Madison WC. That's a careers worth of victories for many.Valv.Piti said:Funny how such a relatively 'big' rider has been so irrelevant for 2 years now. Not been doing anything apart from crashing. Di Data curse, or just standard pretty unversatile sprinter crashing out of the only races that matters? Then he probably pops up and wins a couple of stage now.
Excluding the Tour 2016 obviously.King Boonen said:Irrelevant for 2 years seems harsh. Two years ago he won 4 TdF stages, his first yellow jersey, an Olympic silver, Qatar overall, silver in the WCRR and the Madison WC. That's a careers worth of victories for many.Valv.Piti said:Funny how such a relatively 'big' rider has been so irrelevant for 2 years now. Not been doing anything apart from crashing. Di Data curse, or just standard pretty unversatile sprinter crashing out of the only races that matters? Then he probably pops up and wins a couple of stage now.
2017 he was ill in the first half of the year, got taken out in the TdF and didn't return to racing until the Six Days of London in October.
So far in 2018 he's crashed 3 times. That's pretty worrying.
I have a feeling that this Tour May be a bridge too far for Cav in terms of results. Kittel, Sagan, Demare and Matthews are at the peak of their game and Gaviria and Ewan are going to unleash all kinds of fury.Red Rick said:It was a dumb course. Yet he made it in the crosswinds as pretty much the only pure sprinter there.
I've always liked Cav. I hope he's got some fire in his short legs yet. Least I hope for is some good fortune that he at least gets to defend his chances in the sprints.
Still, the odds are against him. Gaviria beat him 3 years ago already. One got faster and a better team, while the other got older and probably a bit slower. But then again, both have trouble staying on their bikes these days, so maybe a third one will be laughing at the end.SHAD0W93 said:The more he is underestimated, the more lethal he is for winning as well as he wants to prove everyone wrong.
Yeah, you can never be sure when Cavendish crashes. Are you behind him, you might crash and get injured; are you in front of him, you'll probably be disqualified if he decides to ride into you and then crashes.Netserk said:The more desperate he is, the more likely he is to be involved in a crash. Again... I just hope it won't mean that a an actually likeable rider will have to leave the Tour early again.
I know people like to rubbish races that everyone thinks are meant for sprinters, but the top 10 in that race pretty much reads like a who's who of spring classics/monument favourites (ignoring the Ardennes obviously). Cav managing to get 2nd in those winds, over that distance, against those riders with only national riders to help is very impressive.Valv.Piti said:Excluding the Tour 2016 obviously.King Boonen said:Irrelevant for 2 years seems harsh. Two years ago he won 4 TdF stages, his first yellow jersey, an Olympic silver, Qatar overall, silver in the WCRR and the Madison WC. That's a careers worth of victories for many.Valv.Piti said:Funny how such a relatively 'big' rider has been so irrelevant for 2 years now. Not been doing anything apart from crashing. Di Data curse, or just standard pretty unversatile sprinter crashing out of the only races that matters? Then he probably pops up and wins a couple of stage now.
2017 he was ill in the first half of the year, got taken out in the TdF and didn't return to racing until the Six Days of London in October.
So far in 2018 he's crashed 3 times. That's pretty worrying.
Forgot about the Worlds, but not that many people cared. It was a flat course in the Middle East after all....
Imagine this; they're neck-to-neck approaching the line and then… they crash!Akuryo said:Still, the odds are against him. Gaviria beat him 3 years ago already. One got faster and a better team, while the other got older and probably a bit slower. But then again, both have trouble staying on their bikes these days, so maybe a third one will be laughing at the end.SHAD0W93 said:The more he is underestimated, the more lethal he is for winning as well as he wants to prove everyone wrong.
We had that recently with Gaviria against Walscheid: The German was with his shoulders already over the line but still lost, cause Gavirias wheel was over it first. So bike before body!RedheadDane said:Imagine this; they're neck-to-neck approaching the line and then… they crash!Akuryo said:Still, the odds are against him. Gaviria beat him 3 years ago already. One got faster and a better team, while the other got older and probably a bit slower. But then again, both have trouble staying on their bikes these days, so maybe a third one will be laughing at the end.SHAD0W93 said:The more he is underestimated, the more lethal he is for winning as well as he wants to prove everyone wrong.
If that were actually to happen, how would they determine the winner? Does the rules explicitly state that is has to be the front wheel across the line first, or can it be any body or bike part? (Obviously in most cases it is indeed the front wheel that crosses the line first, but take a guy like Ewan; I think his hair might cross the line first.)
Of course if one of them is deemed to have caused the crash, then I guess the other will be declared the winner, and if they're both found responsible, then the person crossing the line in third position might be declared the winner.
However, just imagine someone winning a TdF stage because his elbow happened to slide across the finish line first after a crash.
His shoulders surely weren't over the line before his front wheel. But I think it's the front wheel in all cases, although I'm not certain (if a rider walks over the line carrying his bike turning backwards, would it then be the back wheel since that is the first part of the bike?).Akuryo said:We had that recently with Gaviria against Walscheid: The German was with his shoulders already over the line but still lost, cause Gavirias wheel was over it first. So bike before body!RedheadDane said:Imagine this; they're neck-to-neck approaching the line and then… they crash!Akuryo said:Still, the odds are against him. Gaviria beat him 3 years ago already. One got faster and a better team, while the other got older and probably a bit slower. But then again, both have trouble staying on their bikes these days, so maybe a third one will be laughing at the end.SHAD0W93 said:The more he is underestimated, the more lethal he is for winning as well as he wants to prove everyone wrong.
If that were actually to happen, how would they determine the winner? Does the rules explicitly state that is has to be the front wheel across the line first, or can it be any body or bike part? (Obviously in most cases it is indeed the front wheel that crosses the line first, but take a guy like Ewan; I think his hair might cross the line first.)
Of course if one of them is deemed to have caused the crash, then I guess the other will be declared the winner, and if they're both found responsible, then the person crossing the line in third position might be declared the winner.
However, just imagine someone winning a TdF stage because his elbow happened to slide across the finish line first after a crash.
No, Walscheids shoulders were over the line before Gavirias. That was the point I was trying to make. But the wheel was the deciding factor and the Colombian won that sprint, even though his body crossed the line second to the German.tobydawq said:His shoulders surely weren't over the line before his front wheel. But I think it's the front wheel in all cases, although I'm not certain (if a rider walks over the line carrying his bike turning backwards, would it then be the back wheel since that is the first part of the bike?).Akuryo said:We had that recently with Gaviria against Walscheid: The German was with his shoulders already over the line but still lost, cause Gavirias wheel was over it first. So bike before body!RedheadDane said:Imagine this; they're neck-to-neck approaching the line and then… they crash!Akuryo said:Still, the odds are against him. Gaviria beat him 3 years ago already. One got faster and a better team, while the other got older and probably a bit slower. But then again, both have trouble staying on their bikes these days, so maybe a third one will be laughing at the end.SHAD0W93 said:The more he is underestimated, the more lethal he is for winning as well as he wants to prove everyone wrong.
If that were actually to happen, how would they determine the winner? Does the rules explicitly state that is has to be the front wheel across the line first, or can it be any body or bike part? (Obviously in most cases it is indeed the front wheel that crosses the line first, but take a guy like Ewan; I think his hair might cross the line first.)
Of course if one of them is deemed to have caused the crash, then I guess the other will be declared the winner, and if they're both found responsible, then the person crossing the line in third position might be declared the winner.
However, just imagine someone winning a TdF stage because his elbow happened to slide across the finish line first after a crash.