Stapleton and Cavendish - or, How Not To Cultivate Your Phenom

[Maxiton]

Many people, including yours truly, think Mark Cavendish is the greatest sprinter ever, a true phenom of historic proportions. Cavendish is to sprinting as Eddy Merckx is to racing in general: unequaled in the past or present and likely in the future. Yet, according to this interesting article currently featured on the Cycling News front page - and according also to recent statements from Cavendish - the love affair between Stapleton and his greatest rider is showing strain. What's the source of this strain? Money, what else. But also, communication.

While Stapleton might not have any more money to pay (so he claims, apparently), how has he managed to lose the confidence of his star rider? He has a tiger by the tail in Cavendish, but does he really know it? Will he let Cav get away?

 

[Francois the Postman]

Not sure if you came across it, but Mark's public statement regarding the nature of the relationship he experienced with HTC was discussed recently at length in this thread:

Cavendish 'Abused' by HTC

Some ace posts in that thread from several angles, some of them addressing several points that you raised in your OP at length. Your post would sit perfectly in that thread.

 

[scribe]

Cavendish reminds me of someone who can never get enough bonus money, contract money, and reach-arounds. His best angle is 1 year contracts (big ones). But unfortunately, he will likely harass that team owner all season with threats of discontent to the press.

Maybe he is great. But he is also a great complainer. HTC should show him the door, it'll do him a favor before he blows through his next two teams on his way to growing up.

 

[Marcus135]

Sounds like HTC want him gone...

 

[Maxiton]

Not sure if you came across it, but Mark's public statement regarding the nature of the relationship he experienced with HTC was discussed recently at length in this thread:

Cavendish 'Abused' by HTC

Some ace posts in that thread from several angles, some of them addressing several points that you raised in your OP at length. Your post would sit perfectly in that thread.

I did miss it, but my post was prompted by the CN story. For every thread that's posted here there's probably a thread somewhere in the past that could be resurrected instead. But thanks anyway.

Cavendish reminds me of someone who can never get enough bonus money, contract money, and reach-arounds. His best angle is 1 year contracts (big ones). But unfortunately, he will likely harass that team owner all season with threats of discontent to the press.

Maybe he is great. But he is also a great complainer. HTC should show him the door, it'll do him a favor before he blows through his next two teams on his way to growing up.

I see him complaining, but I don't see him as a great complainer, just high strung. I don't think he's wrong to want more money. And I'm sure Stapleton could find some way to reassure Cav (whose basic problem, probably, is need for reassurance).

 

[Francois the Postman]

I did miss it, but my post was prompted by the CN story. For every thread that's posted here there's probably a thread somewhere in the past that could be resurrected instead. But thanks anyway. .

In Cav's case that should read for every 1 story there are 10 threads and 2 polls. And I suspect that the CN story you refer to would still be spinning wool from the same sheep that sparked that forum thread.

But I see some people are still keen to restate the same opinions regardless. Ah well, if groundhog day is what gets folk through the winter...

At least I tried.

 

[Maxiton]

In Cav's case that should read for every 1 story there are 10 threads and 2 polls. And I suspect that the CN story you refer to would still be spinning wool from the same sheep that sparked that forum thread.

But I see some people are still keen to restate the same opinions regardless. Ah well, if groundhog day is what gets folk through the winter...

At least I tried.

Cycling News and its editors deem it worthy of a fresh story, but you deem it not worthy of another thread. Well, I guess it's settled then. Thanks for enlightening us. and contributing to the thread.

 

[BroDeal]

Cycling News and its editors deem it worthy of a fresh story, but you deem it not worthy of another thread. Well, I guess it's settled then. Thanks for enlightening us. and contributing to the thread.

There is a long Cav thread on the first page which discusses the same stuff. There is another on the second page. Both have been going for the past few weeks. They are impossible to miss if you have been reading the forum.

Just sayin'.

 

[Archibald]

he's the Wayne Rooney of cycling...

 

[thehog]

he's the Wayne Rooney of cycling...

Agreed.





.......

 

[Martin318is]

I am going to close this thread as there is clearly an abundant supply of other places on this forum to restate the points that have already been discussed at length.