mark cavendish to ride 3 GT's this year

[hrotha]

Cav said the Vuelta cost him at the worlds and that he wouldnt repeat the same mistake.

So unless the British view that the Tour is the only race that means anything whatsoever, has gotten to him, Cav is not going to be finishing the Vuelta.

Cav should note there was an extra week between the end of the Vuelta and the WC last year, and then take a look at history to see what previous world champions did.

 

[kurtinsc]

It's all fairly academic, but I think the comparison to Merckx is futile. Cav is obviously not the same calibre of rider and although he may one day eclipse the cannibal's GT stage victory tally it won't mean all that much.

Cipo is the more obvious point of comparison for dominant GT sprinters. Between 1989 and 2003 he won 57 Grand Tour stages, mostly at the Giro, which is a rate of a shade under 4 per year. In his four seasons as a pro, Cav already has 23 Grand Tour stage wins, not including TTTs. That's a rate of nearly six per year, which puts him comfortably ahead of Super Mario.

Obviously he is still young, and there is plenty of time for his career to go off the rails, but he has a real shot at being one of the all time great sprinters when all is said and done.

There's no comparing anyone with Merckx. But beating the record, even if it's done in a completely different way, is a pretty cool accomplishment and a great thing for a rider to shoot for.

 

[flicker]

I hope it was the correct translation and that no one is offended by this.

We call him Kraftzwerg.


Fruchtzwerg

Kraftzwerg

Real bike racers race to finish;ie; Zabel=champion sprinter. Cav. to break Eddys' record by dropping out of Giro/Tour Vuelta, not really a Cav. record=weak.

 

[Parrulo]

Because we know what stylish sprinting looks like - thanks to Petacchi. (make that Cav for you)
We also know what stylish TTing looks like - thanks to Ullrich. (make that Levi L. for you)
We even know what a stylish mountainrider looks like - thanks to Pantani. (make that cuddles or Greg for you)

last but not least, we know how to generally define stylish - thanks to Senor Valverde.

Right now I am sure you have a different view of style than most people I know.

wow you went right into attacking me. just cus i had a different opinion on something that in most cases is up to a certain person.
can't you just defend your case? i also like petachi but i do prefer cavendish's style.

 

[SpannerBender]

Cav said the Vuelta cost him at the worlds and that he wouldnt repeat the same mistake.

I thought he said he was in a good place after the Vuelta but lacked the bottle to taper off the training and therefore was 'tired' due to that.

 

[will10]

Real bike racers race to finish;ie; Zabel=champion sprinter. Cav. to break Eddys' record by dropping out of Giro/Tour Vuelta, not really a Cav. record=weak.

His job's to win races. Who cares whether he pulls out of the Giro/Vuelta? Did Cipo ever reach Paris?

 

[Cobblestoned]

wow you went right into attacking me. just cus i had a different opinion on something that in most cases is up to a certain person.
can't you just defend your case? i also like petachi but i do prefer cavendish's style.

No I am not attacking you, because I don't know you.
I was just attacking your view of "stylish"

Have fun with stylish Cav !

 

[taiwan]

2009 Champs-Élysées

To be fair though, everyone else there had sat up by the time 'Dish actually sprant.

It sucks for Goss (if he wanted GT stages). Smacks of shutting out the competition on his team and others. Could regret it if he starts to look beatable in any of these races.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Intrigued by the debate on whether he is stylish.

Agree he's ugly, but I can't think of any cyclist who depends more on their style (technique) more than their power output to deliver results.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

but he has a real shot at being one of the all time great sprinters when all is said and done.

If we're being realistic, he could have a leg amputated tomorrow, retire, and be safe in the knowledge he would be one of the all time great sprinters. 20 odd GT wins and MSR in the fashion he has done it is enough already - obviously he is likely to win far more, but he's already gilding the lily.

 

[Boardslide]

I thought he said he was in a good place after the Vuelta but lacked the bottle to taper off the training and therefore was 'tired' due to that.

You are correct he said he was in good shape after the Vuelta but had gone too deep there and then over trained before Worlds and wouldn't make that mistake again

 

[Parrulo]

No I am not attacking you, because I don't know you.
I was just attacking your view of "stylish"

Have fun with stylish Cav !

still you attcked something that is completely up to some1's own personal opinion. . . .

To be fair though, everyone else there had sat up by the time 'Dish actually sprant.

It sucks for Goss (if he wanted GT stages). Smacks of shutting out the competition on his team and others. Could regret it if he starts to look beatable in any of these races.

i don't mean the actual sprint. i just think the side camera (there should be a camera like that on all the sprint stages imo) makes for a good view of the way he rides

 

[jens_attacks]

good luck to cav i guess he can do it.curious if he can achieve 15 gt stage victories in one year just like alessandro in 2003.

 

[kurtinsc]

I always thought Abdoujaparov was stylish.

 

[kurtinsc]

good luck to cav i guess he can do it.curious if he can achieve 15 gt stage victories in one year just like alessandro in 2003.

Amazing he got a third of his GT wins in one season.

 

[Kellys Big Sprocket]

Riding all three major tours means that the team need those lead out men to be in tip top shape too. Thats a BIG ASK.

Three Tours too many if Cav plans to finish them all thats my opinion. It will drain him mentally and physically unless he finishes his 2011 campaign before the autumn classic scene, but I have see him getting stronger in both departments the last two seasons. At the end of the day there is only one Tour that he and his team wants him to excel with this summer. Use one as prep and the other as a fall back if le Tour does not work out well for the lad.

Its going to be a good year for Cav !!

 

[SpannerBender]

You are correct he said he was in good shape after the Vuelta but had gone too deep there and then over trained before Worlds and wouldn't make that mistake again

Yeah,agreed. I think it's dangerous territory this year though. Less time from the end of the Vuelta until the WC, as already highlighted. He's defending the points jersey and could possibly be wearing it when it comes time to retire. Would he put himself in that position or ride in support of Goss instead?

 

[AngusW]

The record for most GT stage wins is 64 by Merckx. Cavendish has 22 right now at 25 years old.

Could he be thinking of challenging that record? If he can sprint at the same rate he has been and does all three GT's (pulling out of the giro early each year), it's not unreasonable to see him nearing Cippollini's 57 in 4 years while still shy of 30.

Merckx won 65 (or 66 if the 1977 Tour stage is officially his) GT stages (NOT counting TTTs):

Tour: 34 (or 35)
Giro: 25
Vuelta: 6

 

[Libertine Seguros]

If Cavendish is riding, that suddenly increases the number of GT stages that I don't have to worry about taking holiday from work for.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

If Cavendish is riding, that suddenly increases the number of GT stages that I don't have to worry about taking holiday from work for.

If you genuinely used to take holiday off for GT sprint stages where the result was uncertain but would be of interest for about 10 seconds, then I actually pity you.

Seriously, I know Iberian working conditions are... less intense than northern Europe - but how much holiday allowance do you need to use a day for flat GT stages (or, some might say, cycling at all).

 

[Parrulo]

If you genuinely used to take holiday off for GT sprint stages where the result was uncertain but would be of interest for about 10 seconds, then I actually pity you.

Seriously, I know Iberian working conditions are... less intense than northern Europe - but how much holiday allowance do you need to use a day for flat GT stages (or, some might say, cycling at all).

lol you completely missunderstood libertine. obviously you are not a regular reader

oh btw nice job calling iberians lazy.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

lol you completely missunderstood libertine. obviously you are not a regular reader

oh btw nice job calling iberians lazy.

I have regular discussions with Libertine about Cav. If he wasn't suggesting that cav is boring and so he won't take any holiday to watch him, then I apologise, but that seems a pretty obvious reading of what he said, based on the text and his previous statements.

The inference I have made, which I am assuming is where you got lost in this line of thinking, is that otherwise he would have watched those stages, and indeed taken holidays from work to do so.

I decided to mock this because he obviously doesn't take holidays for every GT stage - not even his hatred of Cav could pretend the sort of stages he wins would be interesting (on his criteria) without Cav.

As for the Iberian comment, you can look up the statistics on employment rate, productivity rate and employment protection legislation for yourself, I really don't feel the need to defend myself for observing reality.

 

[Parrulo]

I have regular discussions with Libertine about Cav. If he wasn't suggesting that cav is boring and so he won't take any holiday to watch him, then I apologise, but that seems a pretty obvious reading of what he said, based on the text and his previous statements.

The inference I have made, which I am assuming is where you got lost in this line of thinking, is that otherwise he would have watched those stages, and indeed taken holidays from work to do so.

I decided to mock this because he obviously doesn't take holidays for every GT stage - not even his hatred of Cav could pretend the sort of stages he wins would be interesting (on his criteria) without Cav.

As for the Iberian comment, you can look up the statistics on employment rate, productivity rate and employment protection legislation for yourself, I really don't feel the need to defend myself for observing reality.

fair enough

in case you don't know i am from portugal so i know the reality of the situation. and know exactly what the problem with portugal is(won't talk for the spanish side tho) but tbh i prefer living on a country full of useless lazy people then living in the northern European countries. since you seem to like statistics they also say iberian people are happier with their life(suicide rates are a good back up for this study) then the rest of europe and that people in portugal and spain are nicer persons.

oh right and we have a good weather.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

fair enough

in case you don't know i am from portugal so i know the reality of the situation. and know exactly what the problem with portugal is(won't talk for the spanish side tho) but tbh i prefer living on a country full of useless lazy people then living in the northern European countries. since you seem to like statistics they also say iberian people are happier with their life(suicide rates are a good back up for this study) then the rest of europe and that people in portugal and spain are nicer persons.

oh right and we have a good weather.

Completely agree - you were the one to use a negative word - I think a way of life with a better work/life balance is far more civilised.


And you have nice weather.

EDIT - although I would be careful on the suicide stats in a discussion like this - suicide rates correlate very strongly with GDP per capita.

 

[taiwan]

Och, if all this means Cav's fitness gets really good and he gets some nice wins in day races then I won't complain.