Cavendish the classic winner!

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  • Slow Downcp
    Slow Downcp Posts: 3,041
    LA got mentoned on BBC Radio news this morning following his crash yesterday - it seems an ageing American being out of sport for six weeks merits more UK coverage than Cav winning one of the top one day races :?
    Carlsberg don't make cycle clothing, but if they did it would probably still not be as good as Assos
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Now you can see why Cavendish is joining the track squad. Win a classic and you get no mention, win the egg-and-spoon-on-wheels whilst dressed in the flag and you get coverage.
  • Steve Tcp
    Steve Tcp Posts: 7,350
    IanTrcp wrote:
    http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/video/21032009/58/cavendish-wins-milan-sanremo.html

    Decent report, but I had to smile at the comment that by winning MSR Cav "proved that his four stage wins in last year's Tour De France were no fluke". Can 4 TDF stage wins EVER be a fluke? That reminded me of Gary Player's line "the more I practice the luckier I get".

    As for mainstream news coverage, it's no surprise that it's at the levels it is, but it is changing for the better. It's not going to happen overnight, and cycling will never displace football etc as the back page staple, but does that really matter? Try and be objective, and imagine knowing nothing about cycling, then sitting down and watching a couple of hours of live race coverage. How is the average UK sports fan going to find that compared to the blood and guts of a Six Nations rugby match? Dull at best, but probably boring. Cycling is often described as "chess on wheels", and like chess it's a cerebral game generally enjoyed by more intelligent people who study the subtle nuances way beyond the basic picture. That's never going to appeal to the majority of people in this fast food, junk television addicted society where thrills increasingly need to be short and intense but not enduring.

    Steve.

    Steve.
    Take care,

    Steve.
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Steve Tcp wrote:
    addicted society where thrills increasingly need to be short and intense but not enduring.
    Ah, the keirin. :wink:
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,197
    Kléber wrote:
    Now you can see why Cavendish is joining the track squad. Win a classic and you get no mention, win the egg-and-spoon-on-wheels whilst dressed in the flag and you get coverage.

    Harsh, but fair - I do agree though. That interview with Sir Paul Smith wa interesting - saying that Cav is a bigger star in Europe than here, though I think we all knew that.
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • Steve Tcp
    Steve Tcp Posts: 7,350
    Kléber wrote:
    Steve Tcp wrote:
    addicted society where thrills increasingly need to be short and intense but not enduring.
    Ah, the keirin. :wink:

    :shock: Ahh, now that's TOO intense, and certainly far too confusing, for Mr Average I reckon. :lol:
    Take care,

    Steve.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Steve Tcp wrote:
    Kléber wrote:
    Steve Tcp wrote:
    addicted society where thrills increasingly need to be short and intense but not enduring.
    Ah, the keirin. :wink:

    :shock: Ahh, now that's TOO intense, and certainly far too confusing, for Mr Average I reckon. :lol:

    I think you're confusing the keirin with the madison. The keirin is easy - follow the pizza delivery guy for a few laps round the track, then pedal flat out for a few laps whilst trying not to get knocked off.

    The only confusing bit is why the pizza delivery guy is dressed as a ninja. But then again, the keirin is big in Japan...
  • Steve Tcp
    Steve Tcp Posts: 7,350
    You're right of course afx237vi, my bad.
    Take care,

    Steve.
  • moray_gub
    moray_gub Posts: 3,328
    camerone wrote:
    Moray Gub wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    Opening line: There are surely contenders out there, so let the debate begin, but I put it to you that, right now, there is no British sportsperson performing at a higher level and more consistently than Mark Cavendish.
    .

    Good article that other than arguably Andy Murray hes probably right about Cav being top British sportsperson at the moment.

    except Murray is Scottish not British I think you'll find.................. :wink:

    He is Scottish when he gets beat but when he wins then he reverts back to being British :-)
    Gasping - but somehow still alive !
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    What are you lot talking about? Scotland is part of Britain! Britain includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
  • LangerDan
    LangerDan Posts: 6,132
    Bhima wrote:
    What are you lot talking about? Scotland is part of Britain! Britain includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

    No it doesn't.
    'This week I 'ave been mostly been climbing like Basso - Shirley Basso.'
  • timoid.
    timoid. Posts: 3,133
    UK = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

    Britain = big island
    Northern Ireland = stolen chunk of little island :wink:
    It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.
  • calvjones
    calvjones Posts: 3,850
    Bhima wrote:
    What are you lot talking about? Scotland is part of Britain! Britain includes England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

    rearrange the words bait, jumped, the, to :wink:

    calv,
    wales,
    europe.
    ___________________

    Strava is not Zen.
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    I was thinking of the UK (Britain + Northern Ireland), not Britain. :oops:

    Anyway, has anyone got the photo finish of this race? Can't find it anywhere; you'd think it would be easy to find. :|

    These are the only ones I can find:

    re221x2dX_20090321_immagine_det.jpg

    PIC13739378.jpg
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Found this but it's a bit blurry. Anyone got something better?

    vlcsnap1062435.png
  • joedh
    joedh Posts: 16
    edited March 2009
    deleted repeat post
  • joedh
    joedh Posts: 16
    Marinerrr:
    I completely agree. You got it spot on. Hit the nail on the head. Exactly right.

    And good on you for being bothered to write that much :D
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Timoid. wrote:
    UK = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

    Britain = big island
    Northern Ireland = stolen chunk of little island :wink:

    So in summary, Mark Cavendish isn't really British, coming as he does from a mere crown dependency.

    And Bhima - I like that photo better than the official photo finish, which I've only seen on video.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Philip S
    Philip S Posts: 398
    Bhima wrote:
    IAnyway, has anyone got the photo finish of this race? Can't find it anywhere; you'd think it would be easy to find. :|
    Here you go (on the Gazzetta site):
    100-Milano-Sanremo-arrivo--346x212.jpg

    The best photo of the finish is over on Steephill.tv:
    340-PIC13736915.jpg

    I particularly like Boonen popping out of the bunch wondering what's going on...[/img]
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    Being analytical, you can see how he wins it: notice his head and neck is level with his shoulders, whereas Haussler has his back arched and his head up high. At 60km/h, this makes the difference between more than a few centimetres over 100m.
  • Harp
    Harp Posts: 79
    I've often wondered how much " throwing the bike " actually helps, watching an overhead shot both riders stopped pedalling before the line and threw their bikes forward , or did they , does it not just throw the rider backwards ??
    Given that the world's top sprinters use the throwing method then you'd think that research has been done into it and it helps but I can't get my head around it, I think all that happens is that the rider goes backwards relative to the bike .

    Anyone care to elaborate on the physics / theory behind the throwing bit ?
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Yes, I never understood why they don't just keep pedalling too - they just throw their weight backwards, not the bike forwards. This is especially noticable on the track; Chris Hoy has a special way of doing it, so fluent, it's almost like he's practiced it to death...

    It just looks like an attempt to get more "aero", which can throw them off thier rhythm and make it more difficult to pedal efficiently. Or maybe they're just wasted! :lol:

    If Heinrich Haussler kept pedalling, he could have brought it back, you never know...!
  • Bhima
    Bhima Posts: 2,145
    Philip S wrote:
    Here you go (on the Gazzetta site):

    Thanks mate! :)

    Doing a write up in a little college sports mag and needed a good pic.
  • calvjones
    calvjones Posts: 3,850
    The bike will move forward compared to the rider moving backward in the inverse proportion to weight. So a 72Kg rider throwing an 8Kg bike forward the 1m length of his arm would move the bike 90cm forward and himself 10cm backward.


    Ish...

    With thanks to Isaac Newton
    ___________________

    Strava is not Zen.
  • don key
    don key Posts: 494
    skavanagh.bikeradar wrote:
    Boonen Vs Cav is starting to shape up nicely as an ongoing rivalry.


    Nah, Boonen's gone. Once he started to say, in Qatar I think, that in a given situation it was between him or Cavendish. It was not quite how he said it but Cavendish won and he was pulling himself up by comparing the two men as like for like, it is not like that anymore, maybe early last year or 07 but not now.
  • Philip S
    Philip S Posts: 398
    calvjones wrote:
    The bike will move forward compared to the rider moving backward in the inverse proportion to weight. So a 72Kg rider throwing an 8Kg bike forward the 1m length of his arm would move the bike 90cm forward and himself 10cm backward.

    Yeah, I agree that it it does make a difference - from a non-racing point of view, try throwing the bike forward next time you go over a cattle grid - it gets you over the grid that much quicker and smoother in my experience.
  • don key
    don key Posts: 494
    Timoid. wrote:
    UK = United_______ **
    >>>>>>> ^^^ ++++++++ Ireland

    All you need are the first and last word.

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