Cav admits Olympics focus will harm TdF results...

TMR
TMR Posts: 3,986
edited June 2012 in Pro race
Very interesting article are: http://road.cc/content/news/60154-mark- ... reparation

He seems to acknowledge that he is gravitating away from being a pure sprinter. If this is a permanent change, then perhaps this could be the start of his pursuit of the Classics?
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Comments

  • ratsbeyfus
    ratsbeyfus Posts: 2,841
    Great find... it'll be interesting to see how/if his sprint power is effected in the TDF. Will he remain so philosophical if he starts to see chipper-winners beating him to the line for stage wins?

    I had one of them red bikes but I don't any more. Sad face.

    @ratsbey
  • philw80
    philw80 Posts: 436
    Could this actually give him the opportunity for MORE wins? ie medium mountains(if he is climbing better, as quoted by JV), lumpy stages with uphill sprint finishes?
  • ratsbeyfus
    ratsbeyfus Posts: 2,841
    It could... although in the article he seems to think he'll not be getting his 'usual' 5 stages this year.

    I had one of them red bikes but I don't any more. Sad face.

    @ratsbey
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    If he wins on the Champs Elysees it's 4 in a row!
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    philw80 wrote:
    Could this actually give him the opportunity for MORE wins? ie medium mountains(if he is climbing better, as quoted by JV), lumpy stages with uphill sprint finishes?

    No.

    Let's not get carried away. He's not suddenly turned into Phil Gilbert.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    It will be good to see him do something else apart from just appearing in the last 10 seconds. He is the best at that but it is a bit boring IMO.
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  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    RichN95 wrote:
    No.

    Let's not get carried away. He's not suddenly turned into Phil Gilbert.

    Would it be so bad if that's the sort of rider he aspires to become? And I mean the Gilbert of last year obviously ;)
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    The Mad Rapper wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    No.

    Let's not get carried away. He's not suddenly turned into Phil Gilbert.

    Would it be so bad if that's the sort of rider he aspires to become? And I mean the Gilbert of last year obviously ;)

    He can aspire to it, sure. Just as I can aspire to be the next James Bond. We need to be realistic though. The truth is he's always been better at short climbs than people credit him with when he really needs to be, but inclines will never be his friends.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    RichN95 wrote:
    He can aspire to it, sure. Just as I can aspire to be the next James Bond. We need to be realistic though. The truth is he's always been better at short climbs than people credit him with when he really needs to be, but inclines will never be his friends.

    Is it really such an unrealistic leap? It doesn't seem so to me, but then what do I know?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    The Mad Rapper wrote:
    RichN95 wrote:
    He can aspire to it, sure. Just as I can aspire to be the next James Bond. We need to be realistic though. The truth is he's always been better at short climbs than people credit him with when he really needs to be, but inclines will never be his friends.

    Is it really such an unrealistic leap? It doesn't seem so to me, but then what do I know?

    Well it's good of you to say so.
    I'm younger than Daniel Craig and I can lose a couple of stone of weight if necessary and maybe even go to Wayne Rooney's 'barber', but I feel the lack of height will be my undoing. (The Martini drinking I've got nailed though).
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • TMR
    TMR Posts: 3,986
    RichN95 wrote:
    Well it's good of you to say so.

    Well done :)
  • oneof1982
    oneof1982 Posts: 703
    gabriel959 wrote:
    It will be good to see him do something else apart from just appearing in the last 10 seconds. He is the best at that but it is a bit boring IMO.
    Personally I find it quite exciting, but then, my name is Bond - James Bond
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Its interesting to see how someone that good can change a few things then start to win things they never have before.

    It will be an interesting Cav if he continues.

    The funniest thing is that he says:
    "I am so much faster than the others anyway, I can afford to lose a few per cent in the sprint@
    Contador is the Greatest
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    http://www.bicyclingnewsasia.com/en/fea ... e-classics
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Let's see what Cav can do in some races with this new, lighter, Cav, before we make any conclusions.
    _
  • jerry3571
    jerry3571 Posts: 1,532
    It's a bit of a gamble. If Cav gives confidence to other sprinters and then loses confidence in his sprint then he's in the doo. Also, if he likes hillier courses the he'll be dealing with different rides like Gilbert and especially Sagan and may not come up to scratch. After this getting his Sprint back could be tricky. Big gamble. :/

    Jerry
    “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”- Albert Einstein

    "You can't ride the Tour de France on mineral water."
    -Jacques Anquetil
  • derbygrimpeur
    derbygrimpeur Posts: 822
    A big reason why he's so quick at sprinting though is that he's MUCH more aerodynamic than the others. He's not going to lose that advantage by losing a bit of weight. There was a link posted yesterday to, I think, a BBC article sumamrising the same interview. In that article he gives a bit more information about needing to be at the finish if he wants to win. He says that the guys at the finish will not be the same guys as he'll be racing (losing?) against at the TdF (i.e. not pure sprinters, as they'll be dropped by Box Hill) so that's why he'll be faster than those he'll be racing at the Olympics.

    Interesting comments about his training too.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    derbygrimpeur wrote:
    He says that the guys at the finish will not be the same guys as he'll be racing (losing?) against at the TdF (i.e. not pure sprinters, as they'll be dropped by Box Hill) so that's why he'll be faster than those he'll be racing at the Olympics.

    See.
    See.
    See.

    Told ya.
    _
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    And it will be selective. "It is not going to be a bunch sprint at the end. There will be a group of less than 50 riders at the finish and I have to be there with those guys."
    _
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    derbygrimpeur wrote:
    He says that the guys at the finish will not be the same guys as he'll be racing (losing?) against at the TdF (i.e. not pure sprinters, as they'll be dropped by Box Hill) so that's why he'll be faster than those he'll be racing at the Olympics.

    See.
    See.
    See.

    Told ya.
    If I remember correctly, what actually told us was that Cavendish would not win the Olympics.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    If Cav is in the top 50 of 200 starts come the end of the olympic race with enough in the tank to sprint I'll put up a "Rick Chasey knows very little about one day races" in my signature for 2 months.
    _
  • alan_a
    alan_a Posts: 1,587
    Rick Chasey wrote:
    If Cav is in the top 50 of 200 starts come the end of the olympic race with enough in the tank to sprint I'll put up a "Rick Chasey knows very little about one day races" in my signature for 2 months.

    Quoted so he can't edit it away and claim he never wrote it. :lol:






    TBF to Rick I agree with him so I don't think he needs to worry.
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  • derbygrimpeur
    derbygrimpeur Posts: 822
    Cav WILL win. The RR is on my birthday and it will make me sad if he doesn't. So on that basis, he will win, And then I will get very very drunk.
  • Clements753
    Clements753 Posts: 77
    Cav will win the Olympic RR, as a noob I am happy to be ridiculed if he doesn't but when he does win it I expect some serious humble pie to be eaten by all the "established" players on here :wink:

    Now to be serious, he is a world class athlete, wants a gold sooo bad after all the track history, is determined to do what it takes to win that race to the detriment of other winnings/the way he used to ride, his age is just right for big one day races.

    Put that lot all together - he will win the Olympic RR and then next spring go on and add some more classics.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    Clements753 wrote:
    Cav will win the Olympic RR, as a noob I am happy to be ridiculed if he doesn't but when he does win it I expect some serious humble pie to be eaten by all the "established" players on here :wink:
    Have you looked at the average PTP thread? Most of us make lousy predictions on a weekly basis.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,651
    RichN95 wrote:
    Clements753 wrote:
    Cav will win the Olympic RR, as a noob I am happy to be ridiculed if he doesn't but when he does win it I expect some serious humble pie to be eaten by all the "established" players on here :wink:
    Have you looked at the average PTP thread? Most of us make lousy predictions on a weekly basis.

    I don't.

    I've given up.
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  • jerry3571
    jerry3571 Posts: 1,532
    If his sprint is suspect then he'll lose to Sagan, Boonen or anyone else who is quick about. His kick has been blunted for sure. It's well known that a climber who wants to TT well usually loses his climbing ability and vise versa. This has happened to many GC rides. You can't gain on one without losing the other.
    Sagan can look after himself and he's the man to beat if Cav's sprinting continues like this.
    Cavs sprint depends on his low position on the bike for sure but if his watts dip then he's giving a lot of guys a lot of confidence when he steps up and nothing's there. Big risk.

    Jerry
    “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”- Albert Einstein

    "You can't ride the Tour de France on mineral water."
    -Jacques Anquetil
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    Cavs team know what they are doing. If Cav has traded power for weight then I'm fairly sure it is the right decision. Either way, their call is better qualified than any of us on this forum - or any other.
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    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • camerone
    camerone Posts: 1,232
    We also need to bear in mind Sky won't be doing alot of chasing in the tour. So he wants other sprinters teams to do that. So telling people your top end is weaker and not winning sprints in a recent chipper will encourage the other teams.
    Wouldn't be the first time he has employed such tactics..
  • derbygrimpeur
    derbygrimpeur Posts: 822
    jerry3571 wrote:
    It's well known that a climber who wants to TT well usually loses his climbing ability and vise versa. This has happened to many GC rides. You can't gain on one without losing the other.

    I'd disagree and I certainly don't think it's "well known". Look at Wiggins - he could always TT, but learnt how to climb. And Contador could always climb, but then developed his TTing. There are others. Some people, e.g. Schlecks, are really pure climbers and won't be able to TT. And some TT beasts (Canc) that are unlikely to be making the cut on an HC mountain. But that's not to say that a good all rounder can't do both. At the end of the day, it's down to the individual.

    As for Cav, we're not talking about a sprinter trying to be a mountain goat. He's a sprinter, trying to be a sprinter, but having a better chance of getting over a small hill 9 times.

    We've never had a sprinter like him before. Most sprinters win because they're the most powerful. Cav isn't, he wins partly due to power, but alot due to aerodynamics (look how low he gets in a sprint). He won't lose that advantage (I've said that before), so a small amount of power loss isn't going to be too disruptive.

    There are too many people assuming that just because he managed to get over a hill last week, or that he's lost some weight, that he won't be able to win sprints. Mental.

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