Where will Cav be next year?

RichN95.

Here's a poll. I've picked the most mentioned options.

iainf72

I went for OPQS - It'll be them or Katusha, where his old High Horse homies are.

I wonder how this all makes Cuddly Bob feel, seeing as he couldn't secure a sponsor as he couldn't keep Cavendish.

RichN95.

iainf72 wrote:

I wonder how this all makes Cuddly Bob feel, seeing as he couldn't secure a sponsor as he couldn't keep Cavendish.

I think Cuddly Bob, who I like and you don't, probably couldn't secure a sponsor with or without Cav. (Particularly not with HTC, who now have more money than they know how to spend and want to move up to something like F1)

But you're right that HTC saw the team as Cavendish and little else

Turfle

Yeah, OPQS makes the most sense, but also got a suspicion it will be Katusha. OPQS would give him the Tour support, but what about MSR/GW etc?

iainf72

RichN95 wrote:

I think Cuddly Bob, who I like and you don't, probably couldn't secure a sponsor with or without Cav. (Particularly not with HTC, who now have more money than they know how to spend and want to move up to something like F1)

But you're right that HTC saw the team as Cavendish and little else

I've been led to believe he had a sponsor who dropped out when it looked like Cavendish was off to Sky. There is probably more to it than that (perhaps they actually met Cavendish or something :P ), but there you go. To the extent where the sponsor were at the Tour last year etc.

RichN95.

iainf72 wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

I think Cuddly Bob, who I like and you don't, probably couldn't secure a sponsor with or without Cav. (Particularly not with HTC, who now have more money than they know how to spend and want to move up to something like F1)

But you're right that HTC saw the team as Cavendish and little else

I've been led to believe he had a sponsor who dropped out when it looked like Cavendish was off to Sky. There is probably more to it than that (perhaps they actually met Cavendish or something :P ), but there you go. To the extent where the sponsor were at the Tour last year etc.

Maybe. My inside info only extends to someone I work with who is married to some marketing director at HTC. They adored Cav. The rest they weren't too fussed by. But then they made obscene amounts of money and wanted to get into the F1 glamour - watch out for them in 2013)

iainf72

Sure - I know it wasn't HTC either.

Haven't HTC's fortunes changed somewhat this year?

greasedscotsman

RichN95 wrote:

Which jersey will Cavendish be wearing next year?

Not this one!

mr_goo

I mentioned this back at beginning of July at start of the Tour. OPQS was my thought then and still is.

viewtopic.php?f=40002&t=12864337&p=17720022#p17720022

rebs

Think he will be at sky next year. But they will let him look to move to a team.... Say a new team based on sprint trains with a place for young gt riders to learn some race craft......

Say a new uk sponsored/influenced team?................................

Just saaaaing.

ademort

While watching coverage of the Vuelta on Dutch TV yesterday the commentator said that Mark Cavendish will definitely be riding for Omega pharma-Quick Step next year.
Ademort

milton50

OPQS. It's a done deal. :P

MrTapir

Yes I put OPQS, half because I think that is the team that he would think of as the most appropriate and half because thats where I would like him to go. I think also he could get some good classics riding tips from Boonen potentially, when Tom is thinking of winding back Cav will be - i reckon - a bit slower and more classics-y. Could be talking cobblers though.

TheBigBean

Any news of Renshaw also moving?

richa

Is Bernie staying at Sky if Cav goes? Who will Cav room with now...

Richmond Racer

Interesting q re Bernie. His career's tied to Cav so it's almost a cert that he goes with him. But he seems to have got on very well in the Sky set-up. I'm sure they'd want him to stay - although Brailsford wanted to take Pate to the Tour instead but Cav kicked up, Brailsford acknowledged how critical he was especially in that first sketchy week. Sky need good experienced road captains, and they're already losing Flecha.

As for Renshaw, yeah, he'll follow Cav but maybe not till the 2014 season. Cav's new team have got to cough up big money for Cav and prob Bernie as it is, without having to buy out Renshaw from his remaining contract with Rabo.

ms_tree

Did you see - I think it was on cyclingnews.com that when EBH was asked about this he said the powers that be at Sky had banned the riders from discussing it. Typical controlling lot.

alihisgreat

Ms Tree wrote:

Did you see - I think it was on cyclingnews.com that when EBH was asked about this he said the powers that be at Sky had banned the riders from discussing it. Typical controlling lot.

... or Cav doesn't want them to say anything... which is perfectly reasonable.

RichN95.

Ms Tree wrote:

Did you see - I think it was on cyclingnews.com that when EBH was asked about this he said the powers that be at Sky had banned the riders from discussing it. Typical controlling lot.

When do you ever hear a rider saying anything about where another rider is going? It's standard practice to not to say anything to the press until an official announcement is made.

thomthom

As I've said many times on here. It's not a matter of anything but;



I'm not even overexaggerating it. That is the genuine reason why Mark is moving to OPQS.

MrTapir

Because the keyboard player from Rammstein wants him to?

Is that Brian Holm?

Richmond Racer

indeed it is. The cosy couple were last seen together on a Danish breakfast show last Monday, talking about a charity event Cav and Holm were involved in on Monday pm.

Any more pro-cycling Heat style gossip - you know where to come

rick_chasey

Richmond Racer wrote:

indeed it is. The cosy couple were last seen together on a Danish breakfast show last Monday, talking about a charity event Cav and Holm were involved in on Monday pm.

Any more pro-cycling Heat style gossip - you know where to come

Excellent chat.

Richmond Racer

Thanks - a little divergence away from actual racing and rider critique wouldnt do any harm, I thought

MrTapir

Definitely not. As long as no one starts posting pictures of women in pants. This is not the website i come to for that kind of thing.

Pross

Staying put I reckon.

Spiny_Norman

iainf72 wrote:

RichN95 wrote:

I think Cuddly Bob, who I like and you don't, probably couldn't secure a sponsor with or without Cav. (Particularly not with HTC, who now have more money than they know how to spend and want to move up to something like F1)

But you're right that HTC saw the team as Cavendish and little else

I've been led to believe he had a sponsor who dropped out when it looked like Cavendish was off to Sky. There is probably more to it than that (perhaps they actually met Cavendish or something :P ), but there you go. To the extent where the sponsor were at the Tour last year etc.

Wasn't Cuddly Bob always "on the verge of announcing a fantastic new sponsor" that ultimately didn't come to anything? Maybe this was the real deal, but my recollection is that there was always something just around the corner, some new potential sponsor being wooed or whatever.

When the Inner Ring published some interesting stuff last year speculating that the team had always been heavily subsidised and running at a loss, I wondered if that might explain sponsors getting interested and then disappearing. Realising that they weren't adding investment, just making up an imminent shortfall would probably make any sponsor reconsider their plans, but it's probably not something you'd discover until you were well into discussions.

That's speculative and probably rubbish, but I'm suspicious of the "Cav Killed HTC" story. If HTC had been a stable going concern, I doubt he'd have considered going anywhere else. Once everyone else started to make escape plans, however...

Jez mon

IIRC much of the money that was floating around in the HTC set up was from T-Mobile.