Tour de France Tour de France 2021, Stage 13: Nîmes – Carcassonne, 219.9 km

[Mayomaniac]

Even Nibali could probably win bunch sprints with this train, they are on another level. Clearly you still need great positioning skills to actually deliver, bust still.
Also a shoutout to Cattaneo, who isn't afraid of working as a part of the train despite sitting 11th on the gc.

 

[Red Rick]

Movistar got 4th! Is that their best stage finish so far?

Erviti got 2nd yesterday.

 

[memyselfandI]

Fabulous interview. He's the Guy Martin of road cycling.

 

[canarydan23]

If you had Bennett and Ewan fighting against each other, it'd have been ok. Take them out and it looks weak. I mean top 5 today had Morkov, Garcia Cortina and Van Poppel. That's not a good field.

That's the Bennett who couldn't beat Philipsen at Scheldeprijs? That Bennett?

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

Cav embracing Ballerini and saying 'abbiamo fatto la storia' (we've made history). Then he says he doesn't want to think about the record in the interview lol. Congrats Cav!

 

[MartinGT]

Wow. What a leadout.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

If you had Bennett and Ewan fighting against each other, it'd have been ok. Take them out and it looks weak. I mean top 5 today had Morkov, Garcia Cortina and Van Poppel. That's not a good field.

The brutal facts are that Caleb Ewan crashed though n o fault of anyone else and Tim Merlier was OTL. If you're not in it you can't win it.

 

[Netserk]

What's Ballerini saying?

 

[SHAD0W93]

Wow, Cav is wasted (seeing him in interview).

First thing he did was park his bike, get off, and figuratively die on the ground. That was a right mess with them being swamped and I think Quickstep did panic a little when they got swamped and separated with I believe Ballerini going for it and Morkov looked like he was actually sprinting for it until he realized Cav was alongside him.

 

[Gigs_98]

Imagine having been in a coma for 10 years and now watching the 2021 Tour with Cavendish still completely dominating bunch sprints. You would probably think he must have far over 50 Tour stage wins by now.

 

[Netserk]

At least he didn't wear that *** ugly skinsuit for the record.

 

[mountainroad]

Odds people would complain this much about the sprinting field if it had been Bennett winning 3 stages instead of Cav 4?

I'm trying to remember many GTs where people didn't complain about the sprint field.

Cav and Renshaw used to finish sprints 1-2 as well.
That was a nasty sprint; the odd top 10 is a reflection of that as much as anything. Faster men got left behind there. Cav's win today was as much of a testament to his ability to pick his way through a mess like that as it is to his being the fastest in the race.

 

[DanielSong39]

Morkov did not sit up or let Cavendish win
Sometimes you have to give the man credit

 

[titan31]

That's the Bennett who couldn't beat Philipsen at Scheldeprijs? That Bennett?

The ones who beat Cavendish at Scheldeprijs and won 7 stages already this year. The one who's only failed to win 3 sprints this year. That one.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Even Nibali could probably win bunch sprints with this train, they are on another level. Clearly you still need great positioning skills to actually deliver, bust still.
Also a shoutout to Cattaneo, who isn't afraid of working as a part of the train despite sitting 11th on the gc.

But can Nibali win using AF’s train for two stage wins?

I know! I was surprised he was on the front too but the whole team committed.

 

[dicanio_michael]

The brutal facts are that Caleb Ewan crashed though n o fault of anyone else and Tim Merlier was OTL. If you're not in it you can't win it.

Indeed, people cant say if someone was here he could have won because that person couldnt hold on to now. It took a lot from Cav to stay here in the competition.

 

[movingtarget]

What a champion. Greatest sprinter of all time.

Won over 50 stages in the three grand tours plus the Worlds once and he has one monument at MSR. Definitely the greatest stage race sprinter not sure about greatest sprinter of all time.

 

[Netserk]

I'm trying to remember many GTs where people didn't complain about the sprint field.

Cav and Renshaw used to finish sprints 1-2 as well.
That was a nasty sprint; the odd top 10 is a reflection of that as much as anything. Faster men got left behind there. Cav's win today was as much of a testament to his ability to pick his way through a mess like that as it is to his being the fastest in the race.

That happened once in the Tour in 2009 where the sprint field was horrible.

 

[movingtarget]

The brutal facts are that Caleb Ewan crashed though n o fault of anyone else and Tim Merlier was OTL. If you're not in it you can't win it.

Cavendish has done the same its part of sprinting.

 

[canarydan23]

The ones who beat Cavendish at Scheldeprijs and won 7 stages already this year. The one who's only failed to win 3 sprints this year. That one.

BuT tHe SpRiNtErS bEnNeTt BeAt WeRe RuBbIsH

 

[titan31]

Won over 50 stages in the three grand tours plus the Worlds once and he has one monument at MSR. Definitely the greatest stage race sprinter not sure about greatest sprinter of all time.

Tbf Cipollini at the very least has a strong argument. I'd say it's 1a and 1b myself.

 

[BigCoward]

Cavendish has done the same its part of sprinting.

And was Cav saying 'you only won because I'm not there'?

 

[Breezy1985]

The ones who beat Cavendish at Scheldeprijs and won 7 stages already this year. The one who's only failed to win 3 sprints this year. That one.

I think Bennett will regret not going in his not fully fit state. Probably would have still won a few stages given the form of the competition

 

[BigCoward]

Tbf Cipollini at the very least has a strong argument. I'd say it's 1a and 1b myself.

The Giro is not the tour.

 

[titan31]

BuT tHe SpRiNtErS bEnNeTt BeAt WeRe RuBbIsH

He's best every sprinter around though. Until Cav can show he can beat Ewan and Bennett, and even Merlier where Merlier goes for the sprint (Merlier was leadout for Philipsen in the ones he didn't win), can't say he's better than those guys now tbh