London Fixed-gear and Single-speed

Very interesting... has Cav shown any links there? I know there has been speculation linking him to a couple of teams but I hadn't heard anything about him and Rabobank.

IMO he'd be very silly to allow himself to be split from Eisel and Renshaw.

What makes you think its silly? What if he finds a better leadout team?

Mainly recycling quips from Phil Liggett

Seriously though (and I really don't know very much about this) but it seems to me that while Cav is undoubtedly a great sprinter the cohesion of his lead-out train is so great that when they get control it almost feels like a forgone conclusion that Cav will cross the line first. Yes he can certainly win sprints without them too but I would guess he would win fewer.

What makes me think that he couldn't find a better lead-out team? It strikes me that that there is more to a leadout train than pure athleticism, and the level of understanding, trust and cohesion involved doesn't just grow up over night. Renshaw has been Cav's last man for what? The last 3 years and I think there is a level of almost intuition between them that would be hard to replace.

I've never done a road race far less been involved in a bunch sprint and maybe I'm underestimating their professionalism, but from my background in rowing (a long time ago) I can say with certainty that finding a pairs partner who you "click" with is worth more than relying on purely athletic measures for selection.

As for Eisel that is entirely based on what I have read but it seems a lot of people attribute a large proportion of HTC's tactical nouse to him which would be a valuable asset anywhere. Plus from footage of the TdF the last couple of years Eisel has been dedicated to the cause of dragging Cav over the high mountains.

The comedy continues in Utah

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/tou...tage-1/results

this is what Miller tweeted
"I knew he was gonna go, he even told me when and where, I still couldn't do anything when he did. The joys of racing against Phil Gilbert."

Really enjoying the Eneco tour at the moment.

Interesting TT course.

Last stage was good too.

*SPOILER WARNING*



That tub roll was so unlucky.

I liked this photo:



OPL riding on the front on the last day of the Eneco tour

BMC have confirmed the signing of Phil Gilbert on a three year contract.

Are they going to have too many chiefs and not enough indians?

It's 'Native Americans', you fucking racist.

Nice. Pinotti signed too. So now they are going to dominate next season classics.
You will only have Evans and Gilbert as the chiefs, no? Gilbert for Classics and Evans for Grand Tours.
Hushovd is approaching the end of his career so he will just fade like Hincapie and share his experience. Same with Pinotti?
Not sure about Ballan.

Ballan has won a monument, which is more than can be said for Hushovd. What about the likes of Van Avermaet, Burghart, Kroon, Hincapie etc too? All of them think of themselves as classics specialists and have ambitions to win the major races.

True, there is Phinney too.

Just listened to the Vuelta podcast by Matt Rendell, he has Wiggins on the phone who pretty much confirms Cavendish as coming to Sky next year

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vino...e-in-his-hands

How many races does a rider, with lots of valuable UCI points, have to race? One and then he discovers his injuries have come back and he moves in to management?

So Vino might be riding again.
Astana, by hiring Kashechkin, broke a 28 rider per team rule. They solved this problem by firing another rider and kept Vino on official UCI team members list.

In other news, Eurosport commentators just mentioned that Cav pulled out from Vuelta.

No Eisel to get him over the climbs

Cavendish has a lot to disprove if he's to win the Worlds;

http://www.pavepavepave.com/2010/09/...mp-by-numbers/

He does have a habit of proving his critics wrong though.

Is it wrong that I don't want him to be WC?

Why not?

I like my WCs to be a bit gung ho, Silly breaks and lone assaults from ridiculous distances. Not a very Cav thing to do?

Great if he does (I can't see it happening), but I think there would be better WCs.

It's only because you have your heart on Nancy being the first Manx WC.

@ Andy. I see what you mean. I do wonder of Cav is going to start thinking about the Spring classics a bit more, especially Flanders.

He'll never win Flanders, he doesn't have the raw power.

Andy - isn't what you've said tantamount to treason?

Cav's girlfriend just happened to arrive in Spain yesterday morning. Just saying.

I'm with you here totally. I like Cav, and theres no doubt hes an amazing sprinter (mad acceleration). But doesnt seem complete enough to be WC.

It would mean watching the champion strips, being towed up, at the back of the pack, of any slightly challenging mountain, and avoiding cut offs by mere rulings.

It was a bit of a fluke. But big Thor wore the WC, KoM, and yellow jerseys on consecutive days, at the begining of the TdF (if memory serves), and he was meant to be a sprinter Goes to show what sort of rider he is.

You can be struck down with an arrow for such talk on the IoM. At least on specific dates.

Cavendish is a “one trick pony”, he needs to better himself and start moving in the direction of a classics rider if he wants to win classics and WC not just sprint stage wins.

Unfortunately for him he is not built for that.I think it was John Herety who mentioned that when Cavendish switched from Track to Road his tests showed very poor results for a Road rider but he was given a chance purely because of his ability to sprint.

This
Come at me Bro, or some such.

He is universally adored over here, but by people who don't understand cycling consists of more than the TdF and the olympics (I wonder if they'll play the Manx national anthem if he wins).

I wish him well but he (IMO) is no world Champ.

Go Nancy.

Some of your TdF predictions this year were similarly certain. Cav is still young.
So? He's a sprinter, sometimes sprinters should have a chance to win the WC. It doesn't mean he has to be able to climb in the Tour as well.
A one-trick pony? Are you drunk? Being the best sprinter in the world, possibly the best sprinter of all time, makes him a 'one-trick pony'? There is no pleasing some people.

He got up the Cipressa and the Poggio okay in 2009, didn't he?

I was referring to the range of his abilities. He is one dimensional, most of the wins are from lead out trains and he only 'rides' for 200m. He is good at what he does but it's boring to see it over and over again.
Only my opinion anyway.

Just watched it. There was not a breakaway to chase and no leg-ripping attacks. Looks like they were marking each other too much so the group did not split. Hincapie led him out from the pack and he beat Haussler in the last 100 meters. Typical Cav. :)

Mark has reluctantly withdrawn from the Vuelta a Espana, after struggling with fatique in the extreme temperatures. Cav, who has completed more race days than most of his peers this season, said he had been feeling drained from the start of the race and felt he had no choice but to pull out.
He is the second HTC-Highroad rider to withdraw from the Vuelta – Matt Goss was also forced to abandon this week due to a stomach bug. Cav, who had been sharing a room with Goss, will now undergo some medical tests to make sure he is suffering from nothing more sinister than straightforward exhaustion.
With the World Championships rapidly approaching, Mark may have to rethink his race programme for the next couple of weeks to make sure he is in top racing form for Copenhagen. More information on this will follow.

http://www.markcavendish.co.uk/

Changing direction is a very risky thing to do in pro-cycling. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.
Look at Boonen. Good in the classics, but really an awesome sprinter. He changes his style as a sprinter to do better in the classics and his abilities overall fade. It might be down to a change in 'preparation' (ahem), but it might also be down to an overall change of race targets.
It is way to early for Cav to look for new pastures. A sprinter at the top of his game doesn't quit to chase 8th in Roubaix or Flanders, if he's lucky. Those races are generally won by racers who train to target a specific monument before adopting the role of super domestique for the rest of the season. (Unless you're Phil Gil, then you simply crush everyone in every race)

if your "one trick" happens to be being the best, who's really to complain?

I once was sitting sidelines with a very good road racer who'd come to see the longest skid and trick comps.. he looked at me a bit disheartened at one point - saying he couldn't do that sort of thing. After a while he just smiled and said, the only trick i know is how to go fast.

ps. I love Cav. (not in an anything but damn boy your quick sorta way tho..)

^Don't kid yourself, Jacqui.

It's those short thick legs and bright red face that float your boat!

Jens Voight. He could turn out to be Contador's butcher and I would still do him.

I think you'll find he'd end up doing you, Will.

"OW That hurts, Jens!"
"Shut up, Will."

he could take me up the Aspen any day he liked.

At which point, let's stop.

Dan Martin. He's got a kipper only his mother could love.
His mother and me.

He's awesome.
#mancrush

Over rated thread >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The andyp Patented Reverse Barometer of Cycling Punditry™ kicks into action! For the remainder of this tour, Dan Martin will steadily climb the GC with silken ease, mastering all other contenders with the god-like grace bestowed upon him by the reverse-curse of andyp!

I'm off to the bookies...

Your right, of course.

But it'd still sting, seeing the WC stripes needing towing (literally?) after repeatedly falling off the back of the peloton.

I dont even think hes as complete a sprinter as peole say. Hes all acceleration, with little maintainable top end speed. If hes forced to go early, a couple of guys can beat him.

So not a one trick pony. But a pony with a massive talent in a specific part, of one trick.

Still love him though. Its those long eye lashes.

oof!

fucked his bike proper as well.