Cavendish "two finger" signals....

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Comments

  • nickwill
    nickwill Posts: 2,735
    I'm amazed that some of the posters on here just don't get it. One of the things that make Cav the great sprinter that he is, is the controlled fury that he harnesses in a sprint. He's the greatest cyclist this country has produced and all that some people on here can do is act all offended by a commonplace gesture, in response to some sustained and unwarrented critiscism. Cycling at his level is about blood, sinews and guts, and is not a sport for maiden aunts or good losers. I would prefer to see Cav carry on being himself, rather than succumb to the PR people who would airbrush him in to anonymity!
    Go Cav!
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  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    Pokerface wrote:
    knedlicky wrote:
    I think Cav's gesture unfortunately adds a lot of weight to what many Europeans already suspect (correctly or not) about how most Brits think and behave.

    "Flicking the V's" only means something in the UK. Outside of the UK, no one knows what it means. So any Europeans (or people from anywhere else in the world) would think he was referring to something else.


    The single finger salute though - is universal.

    You are right in one sense in relation to the Agincourt salute but other countries know what it means just like I knowflicking your hand off the underside of your chin is insulting to Italians. It is a global village we live in.
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • magicrhodes
    magicrhodes Posts: 123
    BikingBernie wrote:
    TakeTheHighRoad wrote:
    If you've had the season he's had so far, with all the bellends slating him, would you not want to send out a message.
    The way to 'send a message' in pro cycling is via the legs, not the fingers. :roll:

    Which he did! In fact he did so well that once the legs had done their job there was time for the fingers to theirs.

    I am a general sports fan and as such follow a lot of sport. I am sick of anodyne sports people talking a lot and say nothing. I found it refreshing when *mind goes blank* recently interviewed a the end of one of the classics (Roubaix?) gave his team a shoeing for giving him the wrong spare bike. I think the quote was "what the fu*k was that about!" Its on a recent cyclingnes podcast

    I'm not saying swearing is cool but too often commentators think they can say and do what they want with impunity.
  • Hibbs
    Hibbs Posts: 291
    Wheelspinner wrote:
    Not one of his fans generally here, but I don't find this gesture any more or less offensive or stupid than El Pistolero...

    Exactly! Gun crime isn't something to be glamourised.

    :wink:


    Had to laugh at Wiggins's "cycling forum people" comment too.
  • magicrhodes
    magicrhodes Posts: 123
    What is it with English sports fans? Why do they have to do their heroes down? You guys can't enjoy one of us being great you have to find a reason to hate!

    Get on board or emigrate!
  • mcj78
    mcj78 Posts: 634
    It's a "V" for victory surely? Well, that'd be my excuse anyway... :wink:
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  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    You can give a good interview without resorting to insulting behaviour or anodyne comments. Both show a lack of enterprise and imagination.

    I bet there are more people turned off to Cav as a result of this than turned on. Perhaps he was advised on his celebrations by Gordon "the bigot" Brown!
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    FransJacques wrote:
    Come on guys - can't believe no one else picked up on it

    How about them pearly whites!

    He's still a lower-class chavtastic bride-at-the-altar-leaving parent-snubbing brother of a convict. (And that's all factual.)

    I still hope he makes the Tour great spectacle. I kind of hope Griepel breaks his contract mid season and signs for Lampre who'll sign anyone since they have no riders left who aren't suspended.

    Do you actually know Cav or are you basing all your opinions on how he appears on TV or in interviews? If the latter then I assume you won't mind me saying that based on your postings on this site I think you're a snobby tw@
  • ju5t1n
    ju5t1n Posts: 2,028
    churchillvsign.jpg
    V for Victory!
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    Pokerface wrote:
    "Flicking the V's" only means something in the UK. Outside of the UK, no one knows what it means. So any Europeans (or people from anywhere else in the world) would think he was referring to something else.


    The single finger salute though - is universal.

    http://twitter.com/cyclingfansanon/status/13099300306
  • petejuk
    petejuk Posts: 235
    We all know the message Cav was trying to send and it may be childish, immature, inappropriate and all the things that have been mentioned. Please bear in mind the monumental effort he has just put in, the adrenaline and emotion and remember also the press hounding he's received.
    I love some of the comments on here: how he has to conform to the quintessential British gentleman image some see through their rose-tinted specs. If he doesn't he deserves no support and every criticism.
    Maybe he should have done the gentlemanly thing and let Danilo Hondo push past him in the queue to the finish line.
    Come on, support the fact that one of the best (if not the best) sprinters in the world at the moment is British.

    ... At least he's not Andy Murray :wink:
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    What happens in his private life is his business and he is certainly not responsible for the actions of his brother (unfortunately some sponsors don't see it that way, ask Tiger Woods).

    However as a pro cyclist you are in a sense public property. You are paid to ride by your boss. He is in the buisiness of promoting his business to all the fans that tune in to watch, stand at the roadside and who buy the products written across your back. If you are good (which he is) then you get all the other endorsement contracts that make you rich by promoting the products to us -the fans.

    Is anyone going to buy the new HTC "fc*k off" range of telecommunications?
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    What happens in his private life is his business and he is certainly not responsible for the actions of his brother (unfortunately some sponsors don't see it that way, ask Tiger Woods).

    However as a pro cyclist you are in a sense public property. You are paid to ride by your boss. He is in the buisiness of promoting his business to all the fans that tune in to watch, stand at the roadside and who buy the products written across your back. If you are good (which he is) then you get all the other endorsement contracts that make you rich by promoting the products to us -the fans.

    Is anyone going to buy the new HTC "fc*k off" range of telecommunications?
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    petejuk wrote:
    We all know the message Cav was trying to send and it may be childish, immature, inappropriate and all the things that have been mentioned. Please bear in mind the monumental effort he has just put in, the adrenaline and emotion and remember also the press hounding he's received.
    I love some of the comments on here: how he has to conform to the quintessential British gentleman image some see through their rose-tinted specs. If he doesn't he deserves no support and every criticism.
    Maybe he should have done the gentlemanly thing and let Danilo Hondo push past him in the queue to the finish line.
    Come on, support the fact that one of the best (if not the best) sprinters in the world at the moment is British.

    ... At least he's not Andy Murray :wink:

    I don't think anyone is knocking his talent. I'm in absolute awe of what he can do but some things are just unacceptable and you can't make excuses for them. Where do you draw the line. Would you still give him the benefit of the doubt if he got off the bike and told your son or daughter to "fck off" as they waited to give him a cheer? I'm not suggesting that he would but a line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere and that sort of behaviour in his work place which is a public domain is not acceptable
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Deegs
    Deegs Posts: 74
    Yellow Peril is right but I don't think it is a big deal TBH I reckon many kids WOULD buy the "latest range" as described which is probably the most unfortunate thing about gestures like Cav made.


    As for you Mr Jacques, you are beginning to sound like the most terrific snob imaginable.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    Bradley Wiggins wasn't wrong was he? :roll:
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    I can't help but think it is the thin end of a very thick wedge.

    I sense the next time cancellara puts 5 mins into the peleton in a one day classic he'll drop his shorts and come across the line with his naked hairy @rse on the handlebars.

    (for the record I don't know if he has a hairy @rse)
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • stage_fright
    stage_fright Posts: 218
    Cavendish is a professional sportsman - who rides for a team who exist because of the sponsorship of HTC etc. Sponsors such as HTC support out sport for the exposure it gives them etc. I have only seen the picture on here so do not know what else he did to celebrate - but - if Cavendish had his arms spread wide, for example, that would be a brilliant PR shot - logos all visible, just the one rider sat up while everyone else is still on the drops. As it stands, it is useless to a sponsor - other than to promote discussion such as this.

    Someone said that sportsman can be dull in interview - sometimes this is a fear of saying the wrong thing, knowing how something you gave a fraction of a second to think about before saying then gets ripped apart for hours by journalists, on forums etc. No one wants to be the guy on the team who said the wrong thing and upset the sponsor etc. Also - sometimes a boring interview is a sportsman's lack of confidence in their English - it can be frustrating in the sport I work in to have someone who will chat happily to you - but lose all confidence in their English when a microphone appears.
    Chocolate makes your clothes shrink
  • petejuk
    petejuk Posts: 235
    Yellow Peril wrote:

    I don't think anyone is knocking his talent. I'm in absolute awe of what he can do but some things are just unacceptable and you can't make excuses for them. Where do you draw the line. Would you still give him the benefit of the doubt if he got off the bike and told your son or daughter to "fck off" as they waited to give him a cheer? I'm not suggesting that he would but a line has to be drawn in the sand somewhere and that sort of behaviour in his work place which is a public domain is not acceptable

    I just find it sad that his gesture stirs more interest than the pleasure of him winning. Its like saying he can win but we're not interested unless he does it in a particular way. I'm sure, in future interviews, he will apologise- considering his sponsors are on the front of his shirt and he's marketable property.
  • magicrhodes
    magicrhodes Posts: 123
    @Yellow Peril Right one thing, he didn't tell any children to fcuk off and to the best of my knowledge he never has done. That is a stupid analogy!

    People say things in the heat of the moment. He has taken a lot of abuse and he has responded. I'm not saying it is the perfect response but it not worthy of the vitriol either. TWs sponsors will be back very quickly when he starts winning, and this will not have any effect on HTC.

    BTW did you write a post to commend him for his phone celebration and how it was a perfect example of looking after sponsors last year??? I'm going to guess not because you just want to grab the moral high gorund and look down your nose at him.
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    I'm a big Cav fan.

    Watching him race last season and either sprint people off his wheel or pass them like he was standing still was absolutely fantastic. Watching that Columbia team dominate on the Champs Elysees was unforgettable.

    However, I'm glad that his gesture has stirred so much interest because (a) it is important to the integrity of the sport which suffers so much for other things and (b) I'm reassured that so many people give a damn.
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    edited April 2010
    Seems to me, given that such a gesture is "outlawed" in football, that cycling and many "fans" appear to hold a lower expectancy of a professional's behaviour.
    I find that most disappointing, given the comparison.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • moolarb
    moolarb Posts: 83
    some of the comments on here are hilarious

    cycling certainly attracts some strange people

    I can't think of any other sport where personality, style and class are so important

    the most important thing in any competitive sport is winning, and Cav is very good at that
  • stfc1
    stfc1 Posts: 505
    andyp wrote:
    Bradley Wiggins wasn't wrong was he? :roll:

    Indeed. This thread is hilarious.
  • capilinconnemara
    capilinconnemara Posts: 117
    Maybe while he was off with the Teeth he was reading up on Great British Sporting Hero's of the past and was impressed with Harvey Smith and thought the Great British Sporting Public would understand :lol:
    Go neiri on bothar leat.
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    magicrhodes wrote:
    @Yellow Peril Right one thing, he didn't tell any children to fcuk off and to the best of my knowledge he never has done. That is a stupid analogy!

    People say things in the heat of the moment. He has taken a lot of abuse and he has responded. I'm not saying it is the perfect response but it not worthy of the vitriol either. TWs sponsors will be back very quickly when he starts winning, and this will not have any effect on HTC.

    BTW did you write a post to commend him for his phone celebration and how it was a perfect example of looking after sponsors last year??? I'm going to guess not because you just want to grab the moral high gorund and look down your nose at him.

    The insulting your kids is to explore how far do you go as to what is acceptable and so is not a stupid analogy.

    Now comparing his offensive gesture to the phone gesture now that is a stupid analogy!
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    moolarb wrote:

    the most important thing in any competitive sport is winning,


    Which opens the door nicely for a drugs debate...
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • magicrhodes
    magicrhodes Posts: 123
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    Seems to me, given that such a gesture is "outlawed" in football, that cycling and many "fans" appear to hold a lower expectancy of a professional's behaviour.
    I find that most disappointing, given the comparison.

    I'm sorry but it is impossible to use footballers as any paragon of virtue and I am football fan. Where to start Robbie Fowler's "coke" celebration, Fascist (not Nazi, there is a big difference) salutes in italy, consistant cheating. If it isn't outlawed in cycling perhaps that would suggest an issue with the UCI. Maybe they should stop looking at banning innovative bikes and maybe something else.

    I don't have a low expectancy of a professionals behaviour I have a realistic one based on the fact they are human. We, each of us, have screwed up in the heat of the moment, it doesn't make you a bad person. Journalists get away with writing shocking articles but they can sit in the background safe and secure.
  • magicrhodes
    magicrhodes Posts: 123
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    magicrhodes wrote:
    @Yellow Peril Right one thing, he didn't tell any children to fcuk off and to the best of my knowledge he never has done. That is a stupid analogy!

    People say things in the heat of the moment. He has taken a lot of abuse and he has responded. I'm not saying it is the perfect response but it not worthy of the vitriol either. TWs sponsors will be back very quickly when he starts winning, and this will not have any effect on HTC.

    BTW did you write a post to commend him for his phone celebration and how it was a perfect example of looking after sponsors last year??? I'm going to guess not because you just want to grab the moral high gorund and look down your nose at him.

    The insulting your kids is to explore how far do you go as to what is acceptable and so is not a stupid analogy.

    Now comparing his offensive gesture to the phone gesture now that is a stupid analogy!

    No it isn't because the point of the analogy is to highlight the speed people hurtle to the keyboard to write bad things but refrain from writing good things.

    See it is a good analogy!
  • cal_stewart
    cal_stewart Posts: 1,840
    Wheelspinner wrote:
    Not one of his fans generally here, but I don't find this gesture any more or less offensive or stupid than El Pistolero...

    El Pistolero is worst, its like your dad trying to be down with the kids
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