Sprint Stages

Pross
Pross Posts: 43,223
edited July 2010 in Pro race
When the route of this year's Tour was announced a lot of people said that there were probably only 5 or 6 stages that Cav had a chance of winning. Why was this? He currently has 3 stages and realistically could have won two others already, there's a chance tomorrow (although I'm not sure if he'll keep in contact on the final climb which is apparently quite steep) and there's then the Bordeaux and Champs stages so there was a realistic possibility of him taking 7 or 8 stages and an slight outside chance of the stage over the pave :?

Comments

  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    Pross wrote:
    When the route of this year's Tour was announced a lot of people said that there were probably only 5 or 6 stages that Cav had a chance of winning. Why was this? He currently has 3 stages and realistically could have won two others already, there's a chance tomorrow (although I'm not sure if he'll keep in contact on the final climb which is apparently quite steep) and there's then the Bordeaux and Champs stages so there was a realistic possibility of him taking 7 or 8 stages and an slight outside chance of the stage over the pave :?

    It's what Cav himself said - 6 definite chances, three possibles.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    But realistically, in every Tour there'll be some stages that end with a breakaway win, or a stage that's disrupted by crashes - which is what has happened. Not even the strongest team can guarantee that every flat stage finishes in a sprint.
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,811
    Yeah but the maths doesn't add up, as there have already been 5 definates (3 to Cav and 2 to AleJet) and we've still got Bordeaux and Paris to come, and that's discounting tomorrow which is probably too steep for him at the end of the second week.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,223
    RichN95 wrote:
    Pross wrote:
    When the route of this year's Tour was announced a lot of people said that there were probably only 5 or 6 stages that Cav had a chance of winning. Why was this? He currently has 3 stages and realistically could have won two others already, there's a chance tomorrow (although I'm not sure if he'll keep in contact on the final climb which is apparently quite steep) and there's then the Bordeaux and Champs stages so there was a realistic possibility of him taking 7 or 8 stages and an slight outside chance of the stage over the pave :?

    It's what Cav himself said - 6 definite chances, three possibles.

    Right, I thought it had come from pundits. Possibly just trying to take off expectations.
  • SpaceJunk
    SpaceJunk Posts: 1,157
    The more I look at the course, the more I wonder why Cav couldn't win 12 stages.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,223
    Which others then? I'd have said 1, possibly 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, possibly 13, 18 and 20. On paper stage 2 looks possible but was far hillier than it appears. Or are you just taking the mick? I'm not saying he should win all these stages, just that in looking at the route it would appear that there are between 7 and 9 that he would have felt he had a chance in.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,241
    TakeTheHighRoad wrote:
    Yeah but the maths doesn't add up, as there have already been 5 definates (3 to Cav and 2 to AleJet) and we've still got Bordeaux and Paris to come, and that's discounting tomorrow which is probably too steep for him at the end of the second week.

    Point that out to Cav then. Maybe he thought won of the stages he won was only a possible, as it had two cat 4 climbs near the end.

    He's quoted as saying it here, amongst other places:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/jun/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-france
    Twitter: @RichN95

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