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Teams & Riders Mark Cavendish Discussion Thread

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Years ago, Quick-Step rode on Eddy Merckx bikes (around 2011?)…

I could imagine Eddy and Lefevere are good friends, and after the Tour 2021, where Cav failed to win his 35th record-breaking Tour stage in Paris, Eddy thought about it. Then, in the time since July 2021, Eddy contacted Patrick: „You know, I thought about it. I actually do not want Cav to get this record. I feel better if it stays as it is, and Cav and me both stay at 34 stage wins. Lefevere, you will do everything possible to hinder Mark from winning another Tour stage. You will make him ride for QS until his career is finished, and you will never again include him in your Tour line-up. Understand? Otherwise, I‘ll make a few people talk to Sporza and Het Nieuwsblad, and make them tell them how you REALLY have been running your teams, for the last 30 or 40 years… Think about it, Patrick!“… ;)
 
Not endurance that he won’t finish the race. Endurance that he will be competitive at the end. Obviously last year he got boxed in and they didn’t compete in any other one since week 2. But he’s older and with the Giro, Demare was getting the better of him. I’d love for him to go and it would be HUGE press if he won(which I think he can) but there is the blow back on Jakobsen that he could become miffed.
Cavs leadouts were really bad at the Giro.

But QS going for Jakobsen is pretty logical. It might be a bit more 50/50 if he wasn't on a Belgian or Dutch team, but Jakobsen is clearly the main focus of that team for the future.

Cav owes a lot to QS but he's a bit trapped there now and could've probably done a much better schedule on a different team this year.
 
Perhaps Cavendish should have gone to Lefevre at the start of the year and done a deal to be part of Jakobsen's lead out through the year, including at the Tour, with the understanding that, especially if the green jersey is not on the cards, he would be given a couplpe of sprint stages as favoured sprinter.

Once he was the internal opposition to Jakobsen, rather than part of his entourage, he was only ever going to be option B.
 
Years ago, Quick-Step rode on Eddy Merckx bikes (around 2011?)…

I could imagine Eddy and Lefevere are good friends, and after the Tour 2021, where Cav failed to win his 35th record-breaking Tour stage in Paris, Eddy thought about it. Then, in the time since July 2021, Eddy contacted Patrick: „You know, I thought about it. I actually do not want Cav to get this record. I feel better if it stays as it is, and Cav and me both stay at 34 stage wins. Lefevere, you will do everything possible to hinder Mark from winning another Tour stage. You will make him ride for QS until his career is finished, and you will never again include him in your Tour line-up. Understand? Otherwise, I‘ll make a few people talk to Sporza and Het Nieuwsblad, and make them tell them how you REALLY have been running your teams, for the last 30 or 40 years… Think about it, Patrick!“… ;)
Maybe but more likely how popular would it be in Belgium for Patrick to facilitate Cav's breaking of the record? Eddy's influence aside and, if the Remco thread is any indication it does appear that Belgians hold their icons dear. Cav is and never has been the most popular sprinter except in the UK.
 
Records are meant to be broken and, in any case, it is like comparing apples to oranges between 34 wins by Merckx and 34 wins by Cav, a multiple GC winner vs. a sprinter. It would thus be rather peurile if Patrick in the interests of Belgium were comploting against Cav just to maintain the Cannible's heritage, which should not be demeaned by one iota were Cav to numerically surpass him in this and only this regard.
 
Records are meant to be broken and, in any case, it is like comparing apples to oranges between 34 wins by Merckx and 34 wins by Cav, a multiple GC winner vs. a sprinter. It would thus be rather peurile if Patrick in the interests of Belgium were comploting against Cav just to maintain the Cannible's heritage, which should not be demeaned by one iota were Cav to numerically surpass him in this and only this regard.
Agreed. But national pride gets in the way of things occasionally.
Looks like Cav aggressively made a Nat Champ statement. Patrick now has to make the next move.....not get the best possible exposure for Quickstep and risk all with Jakobsen?
 
so he hasn't had the call one way or the other, and usually he would know by now if he wasn't going. Although saying that he's always gone to the tour while at QS. He mentioned how great it would be breaking the record in the british jersey, and said he would win stages there if he was given the opportunity (tell us something we didn't know), as he thinks he has better form than last year.

also up to joint 3rd in most wins with Cipo and de Vlaeminck
 
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