California gets Cav

Tusher

and our hero doesn't get his trip to Italy.
Suspect he's not entirely happy, but the American sponsors and Uncle Bob want their prize man to be seen on home territory, which is fair enough.

And Andre will be placated by being their GT man for the Giro.

frenchfighter

Will meet Boonen there and likely Thor I guess.

dave_1

Amgen and Tour of California will come and go like them all e.g...Tour De Trump, Dupont, Coors Classic, Tour of America that never was, Georgia, Missouri...the Giro will run every year for the next century and Cav's name will be on there...the number of stage wins being a measure...it's a very bad idea to neglect the Giro as a man in his prime...the wins he gets at ToC will be wiped when the race wiped out by sponsor withdrawls.

stagehopper

He's not neglecting the Giro - been made pretty clear for months that due to the nature of the World Championship road race course this year he fancies a go at winning it.

He was always likely to switch from his usual Giro+TdF double to the later season TdF and Vuelta combination which more suits his aspirations for Geelong in early October. The ToC thus becomes another training race for him towards his shifted goals in the calendar.

shinyhelmut

If the bloke that pays him says go to California then he'll have to do without Giro wins this year.

It's a shame the 2 races clash and equally it's a shame they haven't taken advantage of the later date and gone for a slightly more challenging course, after all california has some great climbs, but in the long run Dave_1 is right, the Giro will be around long after the ToC.

stagehopper

ShinyHelmut wrote:

... but in the long run Dave_1 is right, the Giro will be around long after the ToC.

That's of course correct, but the point here is Cav is swapping the Vuelta for the Giro, not the ToC for the Giro.

deejay

To have Cavendish there and the Texan, will assure them of a couple more years for the race.
I cannot see how another Leafy win will help the race in the long run.

Must remember the size of the market over there that can sustain their own private "Sports" like Baseball, NFL, and Basketball and so no matter what dates (except July) they are allowed by the UCI then that market can sustain it.
I mean just look at how the Texan became a "Celebrity" in that market and having done so he can now spread his influence world wide.
No wonder he made a comeback.

dave_1

stagehopper wrote:

ShinyHelmut wrote:

... but in the long run Dave_1 is right, the Giro will be around long after the ToC.

That's of course correct, but the point here is Cav is swapping the Vuelta for the Giro, not the ToC for the Giro.

I think if Cav wants to get near Cipos 40 or so Giro stage wins and be up there in the pantheon of greats, he needs to avoid minor events and clean up at the big ones. The Vuelta isn't quite at the level of the Giro and Cav doesn't need to ride the whole Vuelta to prepare for the worlds, or even the whole Giro to prepare for the TDF. These wins he will take at ToC wil be forgotten in 10 years time when nobody remembers what race it was. I would imagine Cav must be thinking of ditching HTC if he is going to be excluded from such prestige events.

blazing_saddles

If he picks up an injury or crash at the Tour, all his season's eggs will be broken in the one basket.
I agree with Dave. We can all recall the wins he had at the Giro last year. GT victories stand alone.
I have forgotten his Californian efforts.

I already have the feeling that this season will be one for him to forget.

Kléber

For the likes of HTC, Columbia and Scott the Californian market is probably far more important than the mid-sized towns visited in Italy during the Giro.

But riders should not have to face a choice, it's idiotic of the UCI to schedule these two races simultaneously.

dave_1

Blazing Saddles wrote:

If he picks up an injury or crash at the Tour, all his season's eggs will be broken in the one basket.
I agree with Dave. We can all recall the wins he had at the Giro last year. GT victories stand alone.
I have forgotten his Californian efforts.

I already have the feeling that this season will be one for him to forget.

And to say, Cav must do Tour of California cause of who his sponsors is, well...Cav could go and land a huge deal with many other teams. There's a high chance his wins at Cali will be worthless in 10 years time... I cannot believe Cavendish wants to ride this training race. It's a good training race, perfect for GC riders not up to the Giro or aiming at the TDF but no way should a sponsor force a rider out of the biggest events of the season. It's would be like Evans coming over to ride it when he has the form to win the Giro.

MintyFresh

Dave_1 wrote:

Amgen and Tour of California will come and go like them all e.g...Tour De Trump, Dupont, Coors Classic, Tour of America that never was, Georgia, Missouri...

These wins he will take at ToC wil be forgotten in 10 years time when nobody remembers what race it was.

There's a high chance his wins at Cali will be worthless in 10 years time...

dude, settle down. first of all, that's no way to show respect to Cav. second, there have been plenty of wothless grand tour stage wins by other riders, including overall wins. third, i will be there cheering on Cav, and a to witness a win will not be worthless for me. I will remember it in 10 years. show some respect for the riders and the fans in the US, if its not too much trouble. your negative attitude does not help.

greasedscotsman

Blazing Saddles wrote:

I have forgotten his Californian efforts.

Like hanging onto a team car?

Jez mon

Dave_1 wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

If he picks up an injury or crash at the Tour, all his season's eggs will be broken in the one basket.
I agree with Dave. We can all recall the wins he had at the Giro last year. GT victories stand alone.
I have forgotten his Californian efforts.

I already have the feeling that this season will be one for him to forget.

And to say, Cav must do Tour of California cause of who his sponsors is, well...Cav could go and land a huge deal with many other teams. .

And leave a team which is happy to more or less build itself around him? Besides, he is set to ride two GTs anyway.

dennisn

Jez mon wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

If he picks up an injury or crash at the Tour, all his season's eggs will be broken in the one basket.
I agree with Dave. We can all recall the wins he had at the Giro last year. GT victories stand alone.
I have forgotten his Californian efforts.

I already have the feeling that this season will be one for him to forget.

And to say, Cav must do Tour of California cause of who his sponsors is, well...Cav could go and land a huge deal with many other teams. .

And leave a team which is happy to more or less build itself around him? Besides, he is set to ride two GTs anyway.

+1......... I'm pretty sure he has gotten fairly well know in Europe so a quick trip to the States will only enhance his popularity AND Columbia's. It's win win and I'm sure he will pull off a least a couple of his trademark sprint wins. I doubt he's complaining and if he is it's all the way to the bank.

Jez mon

One thing I would point out, Cavendish is only 2 stage wins off the number that Mario achieved in his whole career and is only 24. If he keeps on sprinting at a high standard until his early 30s he is well on track to take Merkx's record 34 stages.

It all depends on how he develops as a rider, and whether any rivals can come through. However, IMO, it would seem that he could take the tour de France record if he keeps going, especially if he is able to improve up (slight) inclines, not mountains, just those bumpy stages that most sprinters can still go for.

dave_1

MintyFresh wrote:

Dave_1 wrote:

Amgen and Tour of California will come and go like them all e.g...Tour De Trump, Dupont, Coors Classic, Tour of America that never was, Georgia, Missouri...

These wins he will take at ToC wil be forgotten in 10 years time when nobody remembers what race it was.

There's a high chance his wins at Cali will be worthless in 10 years time...

dude, settle down. first of all, that's no way to show respect to Cav. second, there have been plenty of wothless grand tour stage wins by other riders, including overall wins. third, i will be there cheering on Cav, and a to witness a win will not be worthless for me. I will remember it in 10 years. show some respect for the riders and the fans in the US, if its not too much trouble. your negative attitude does not help.

Hey, I think Cali is a great idea but Flanders, Roubaix, Liege, Lombardy, the 3 Grand tours and the Worlds RR are above all else and no event should get in their way ever is my wish. And trust me, I get loads of flak on here for standing up for Armstrong's and his 7 GT wins, for believing his wins were down to talent rather than anything else. Even Leiphmer, a model team mate to Contador at the 08 Vuelta is hated on here and I can't see why. I

I hate sponsors getting in the way of sport like that. A grand tour stage win is for life, a Cali win...nobody will remember it in 10 years based on past events demise over in the USA. Cav will have to remind people what race it was and curious followers in 2025 will look back on Cav's 2010 palmares and think he had a poor spring

greasedscotsman

Didn't Hinault race in America in '85 or '86? Didn't seem to do him any harm.

Anyway, I can't see what the fuss is about. Surely Cavendish's targets this year have to be the points competition at the Tour and the World Road Race. Everyone will forget what he did earlier in the year if he win's those. An "easier" race in May added to the rubbish start to the year have to be better way to prepare for these more important targets later in the year.

And I can't see why people seem to hate the ToC so much. Surely more races are better? I was lucky enough to go and see the first one in 2006 and thought it was a smashing race. OK, it will never be the Tour of Italy and shouldn't try to be, it had it's own character which was different from any other race I've been to, can't see anything wrong with that.

Are we going to cry when Cavendish announces he's going to the Vuelta rather than the Tour of Britain? Maybe a few stage wins in the Vuelta would be good on his palmarès.

moray_gub

greasedscotsman wrote:

And I can't see why people seem to hate the ToC so much.

I suspect if this had been the Tour of Mexico or Tour of Canada there would not be so much hostility towards it.

Tom Butcher

A career doesn't have to be about building a palmares to rival the greats anyway. Cav is the best sprinter in the world at the moment - riding the Giro or the ToC will not alter that.

I think you compete against your rivals of the day rather than the history of the sport. He'd be best served enjoying his career, doing the best he can to achieve the major goals he's got each season and let his place in history take care of itself.

blazing_saddles

Is he?
That ideology is based upon last year's results: Cav was the best sprinter in the world.
So far, in 2010, one win in Catalunya hasn't re-established this credential.
California isn't going to, either.

RichN95.

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Is he?
That ideology is based upon last year's results: Cav was the best sprinter in the world.
So far, in 2010, one win in Catalunya hasn't re-established this credential.
California isn't going to, either.

Yes he is.
You don't just lose your status in the sport due to a bout of illness. Usain Bolt hasn't done a race this year, but I still reckon he's the world's fastest man.

greasedscotsman

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Is he?
That ideology is based upon last year's results: Cav was the best sprinter in the world.
So far, in 2010, one win in Catalunya hasn't re-established this credential.
California isn't going to, either.

Going to the Giro won't either. I would imagine there will be several top sprinters who won't go as well, crickey, some might even go to California! The big shoot out for who is the best sprinter will happen at the Tour and then course depending, the Worlds.

But then I don't think any rider will base his season on getting the "Bike Radar Pro Race Forum Best Sprinter" award. I can't imagine Stapleton and Cavendish are too worried they have lost the Blazing Saddles vote. It's about winning races, not some meaningless accolade on the internet.

I would love for someone to post on this forum after he has won the Worlds and points at the Tour that he's had a disappointing year because didn't win any stages at the Giro!

afx237vi

Fun fact: This year will be Oscar Freire's first ever start in the Giro. His palmares doesn't really suffer too much from not having a Giro stage on it.

History has shown in recent years that the Vuelta is the best prep for winning the Worlds. Who cares if Cav misses the Giro this year? He already has 6 more wins than Freire.

mroli

Agree with Greased Scotsman above.

If Cav wins green jersey at TDF and/or World Champions jersey the no-one will look back at his palmares for this year and go "well, you weren't very good in 2010 were you?". Especially as he is bound to pick up some stage wins elsewhere too.

As for wanting to abandon Colombia - where would he go that would give him everything that Colombia gives him. The only place I can think of would be Team Sky and he'd not have as good a train - would be going for the money.