What, cycling talk and no mention of Cavendish?

[m_sasso]

What, cycling talk and no mention of the return of Cavendish. He gets my warm congratulations! Like him or carless, the guy is one dedicated cyclist that still possesses amazing speed and the ability to thrill and entertain.

[glepore]

+1

[jamesdak]

+1000

Hope he kicks butt this year, gives hope to a really old geezer like me.

[madsciencenow]

I was discussing Cav earlier today with a couple of friends and I think the ubiquitous sentiment is we are happy to see Cav back and getting some sprint wins.

To the point above, I can’t imagine how much work it must be at his age to be competitive as a sprinter. It seems that most sprinters flame out after a few productive seasons.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Andy sti]

Watch the interview that Matt Stephens did with Cav a year or so ago, it’s so good.

Always been a fan of Cav.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by madsciencenow

To the point above, I can’t imagine how much work it must be at his age to be competitive as a sprinter. It seems that most sprinters flame out after a few productive seasons.

Surely it is impressive, but one of the things that has always made him such a great sprinter was his ability to read and navigate the peloton over the final kilometer. He never had the most raw power, but he knew where to be and he knew when to go. I remember telling a friend for the season started, if Cavendish can make it to the end of the race, he's going to win a few sprints.

That's always been his biggest weakness, just trying not to get dropped before the end, and that's what I think is most impressive about his comeback. I remember a couple years ago at the tour of California, he was the first one off the back of the peloton, even in a field with some domestic pros who would never cut it in Europe. This might not be the tour de France, but to see him back there, hanging in there with a pro peloton, and winning two stages in a row is really impressive.

I'm curious to see what The team does with him. He's obviously a big name, and has shown he can win, but it's hard to imagine they would take him to the tour de France unless Sam Bennett gets hurt. Assuming Turkey isn't a complete fluke, and he will be competitive for the rest of the year, It will be interesting to see how they choose to deploy him, where they support him, and where they leave him home.

[FlashUNC]

I think his TdF days are done unless he's willing to ride subordinate to Bennett. But that third at Schelderprijs, just behind Bennett, showed he wasn't that far off this year. Grand Tours are a different animal, but the legs at least seem to be there after the last few years in the woods.

Holm and Lefevre were right to take a flyer on the guy basically riding for them for free. At minimum he gets to hang it up this year going out showing he can still win races.

Cav's a legend.

[weisan]

Mark Cavendish reflects on first victory in more than three years

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs6GXV0cjbE

[gbcoupe]

And another... wow!

[trener1]

Yeah.
3 wins in a row even against a weak field is still impressive.

As for the rest of the year, I think he will continue to go to smaller races, Bennett did win the green jersey last year after all.

[GregL]

Sinyard and Lefevere are probably paying out more in bonuses than they planned, but the publicity is priceless. Good on Cav for excellent sprinting and overcoming doubts (both his own and from the bike racing world in general).

Greg

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by trener1

Yeah.
3 wins in a row even against a weak field is still impressive.

As for the rest of the year, I think he will continue to go to smaller races, Bennett did win the green jersey last year after all.

Cav is a legend, but I don't see him being their sprinter at the TdF.

The stage endings at the Tour of Turkey are hard to watch with the conti pros. It's a little too mixed and crashy. I find myself wincing.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by GregL

Sinyard and Lefevere are probably paying out more in bonuses than they planned, but the publicity is priceless. Good on Cav for excellent sprinting and overcoming doubts (both his own and from the bike racing world in general).

Greg

From the cycling news article, it sounds like all the bonuses are being paid by Specialized. And it honestly sounds like a good investment, at least by cycling standards. No one would care about who won the tour of Turkey otherwise, but Cavendish gets a few wins in a row and gets a ton of press. Probably more bang for their buck out of Cavendish than Peter Sagan.

[KJMUNC]

Love seeing him winning again, as he's a big personality for the sport and it felt like he was in a dark place for a long time.

If his form is ok, why not the Giro? Probably too much climbing for him though....I could certainly see him lining up for the Vuelta and doing some more sprint damage.

I honestly think he is happy racing where ever they let him race. DQS and Lefevre are smart enough to know what races to send him to and not burn him out, plus they want as much mileage out of him as possible, so I expect some random, but smart choices about where he races this summer (but not the TdF)

[Tommasini53]

Originally Posted by m_sasso

What, cycling talk and no mention of the return of Cavendish. He gets my warm congratulations! Like him or carless, the guy is one dedicated cyclist that still possesses amazing speed and the ability to thrill and entertain.

Totally agree. His success would certainly lend to having a good sized bank account and many pros would have retired after dealing with those health issues. He's really fought his way back and that has to say something about how much he loves the sport. Probably why the Belgian team took him in.

It is interesting to see pros that enjoy the sport so much that the are content to race in "lower" level races/teams to continue in the sport. David Rebellin and Tommy Steeles come to mind.