Should Mark Cavendish swallow his pride and retire?

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  • joe_totale-2
    joe_totale-2 Posts: 1,333
    ISN is a decent shout but Cav would need a couple of good lead out riders to come with him to have a chance of winning a stage next year.

    With Bennett leaving I could see Cav staying at Quickstep for 1 more year, I'm not sure about the other sprinters available who Quickstep could sign, Tim Merlier?
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,985
    joe_totale-2 said:

    ISN is a decent shout but Cav would need a couple of good lead out riders to come with him to have a chance of winning a stage next year.

    With Bennett leaving I could see Cav staying at Quickstep for 1 more year, I'm not sure about the other sprinters available who Quickstep could sign, Tim Merlier?

    Merlier was what the rumour mill were saying, but thinking about it, what about Ewan?
    He can blow a bit hot and cold, but then so can most sprinters to be fair.
    When he has it all switched on though he is hard to beat.
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  • joe_totale-2
    joe_totale-2 Posts: 1,333
    edited July 2021
    daniel_b said:

    joe_totale-2 said:

    ISN is a decent shout but Cav would need a couple of good lead out riders to come with him to have a chance of winning a stage next year.

    With Bennett leaving I could see Cav staying at Quickstep for 1 more year, I'm not sure about the other sprinters available who Quickstep could sign, Tim Merlier?

    Merlier was what the rumour mill were saying, but thinking about it, what about Ewan?
    He can blow a bit hot and cold, but then so can most sprinters to be fair.
    When he has it all switched on though he is hard to beat.
    Ewan moving from Lotto Soudal to Quickstep would probably result in civil war in Belgium!

    Merlier was suffering hugely over the mountains at the TDF, Quickstep may prefer to take Cav for the Grand Tours as he's proven he can survive the mountains and leave Merlier for the 1 day races and 1 week tours.
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,985
    edited July 2021
    joe_totale-2 said:

    daniel_b said:

    joe_totale-2 said:

    ISN is a decent shout but Cav would need a couple of good lead out riders to come with him to have a chance of winning a stage next year.

    With Bennett leaving I could see Cav staying at Quickstep for 1 more year, I'm not sure about the other sprinters available who Quickstep could sign, Tim Merlier?

    Merlier was what the rumour mill were saying, but thinking about it, what about Ewan?
    He can blow a bit hot and cold, but then so can most sprinters to be fair.
    When he has it all switched on though he is hard to beat.
    Ewan moving from Lotto Soudal to Quickstep would probably result in civil war in Belgium!

    Merlier was suffering hugely over the mountains at the TDF, Quickstep may prefer to take Cav for the Grand Tours as he's proven he can survive the mountains and leave Merlier for the 1 day races and 1 week tours.
    And on an aside of that topic, the other rumour is that PL has secured Soudal to DQS for 2023. Maybe he comes over then!
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  • joe_totale-2
    joe_totale-2 Posts: 1,333
    edited July 2021
    daniel_b said:

    joe_totale-2 said:

    daniel_b said:

    joe_totale-2 said:

    ISN is a decent shout but Cav would need a couple of good lead out riders to come with him to have a chance of winning a stage next year.

    With Bennett leaving I could see Cav staying at Quickstep for 1 more year, I'm not sure about the other sprinters available who Quickstep could sign, Tim Merlier?

    Merlier was what the rumour mill were saying, but thinking about it, what about Ewan?
    He can blow a bit hot and cold, but then so can most sprinters to be fair.
    When he has it all switched on though he is hard to beat.
    Ewan moving from Lotto Soudal to Quickstep would probably result in civil war in Belgium!

    Merlier was suffering hugely over the mountains at the TDF, Quickstep may prefer to take Cav for the Grand Tours as he's proven he can survive the mountains and leave Merlier for the 1 day races and 1 week tours.
    And on an aside of that topic, the other rumour is that PL has secured Soudal to DQS for 2023. Maybe he comes over then!
    That may seal the deal!

    *drum roll*

  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,985
    edited July 2021
    Yet another rumour, re the Ineos idea, is that Bennett has been linked with them!

    "Bora-Hansgrohe have, so far, been touted as the frontrunners to secure the signature of Irish sprinter Sam Bennett when his Deceuninck-QuickStep contract expires at the end of the season. However, a new team has entered the race for the reigning Tour de France green jersey in the form of Ineos Grenadiers.

    After two seasons at his current team, Bennett will be moving elsewhere for the 2022 season, with a return to Bora as possible replacement for Pascal Ackermann on the cards, but a report from Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad has suggested that British squad Ineos could be in for the Irishman.

    Ineos Grenadiers have lacked a top-level sprinter since the departure of Elia Viviani back in 2017, preferring to focus on their stage racing core but they appear to be interested in bringing the 30-year-old on board next season.

    The presence of coach Kurt Bogaerts, who joined the team in February, is thought to be an attraction for Bennett. The Belgian – who has in recent years worked with Ineos neo-pro Tom Pidcock at Trinity Racing – is close friends with Bennett and was co-manager of the AnPost-ChainReaction squad which Bennett raced for from 2011 to 2013."
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  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,719
    Cav looked beyond knackered the last week of the Tour so I think that to finish and the maillot vert is probably enough and that the fairy tail ending remains just that.
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  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,334
    Didn't sound like Cavendish was immediately thinking of retiring on the BBC this morning (5 live breakfast show, about fifteen minutes before the end if you want to listen). I don't think you can draw too much out of it about his future plans though.

    Sounded very chipper about the whole Tour experience though - he certainly didn't sound like someone who was unable to put the Champs sprint into its proper context.
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,166
    It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,927
    kingstongraham said:

    It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started.

    Didn't he beat Merlier or Philipsen earlier than that?
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,166
    TheBigBean said:

    kingstongraham said:

    It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started.

    Didn't he beat Merlier or Philipsen earlier than that?
    Philipsen was in Turkey.

    Actually three years since he beat anyone proper - Groenewegen was in Dubai in 2018.
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,438
    kingstongraham said:

    TheBigBean said:

    kingstongraham said:

    It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started.

    Didn't he beat Merlier or Philipsen earlier than that?
    Philipsen was in Turkey.

    Actually three years since he beat anyone proper - Groenewegen was in Dubai in 2018.
    https://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/race.asp?raceid=38302

  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,166
    edited July 2021
    r0bh said:

    kingstongraham said:

    TheBigBean said:

    kingstongraham said:

    It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started.

    Didn't he beat Merlier or Philipsen earlier than that?
    Philipsen was in Turkey.

    Actually three years since he beat anyone proper - Groenewegen was in Dubai in 2018.
    https://cqranking.com/men/asp/gen/race.asp?raceid=38302

    I think you might have missed the the original quote : "It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started."

    That race was the one two weeks before the Tour started.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    kingstongraham said:

    It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started.

    Some would argue he still hasn't :wink:

    Maybe UAE should sign him to win the stages and jersey that Pog can't get.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    edited July 2021
    With out morkov and DQS that would not have happened ..true without Cav it wouldn't have happened either. If Caleb hadn't crashed one maybe two stages . The fact is the stars aligned for cav here . He got lucky and didn't waste it. I wouldn't be surprised if he never won at the tour again
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,166
    Pross said:

    kingstongraham said:

    It's still crazy to think he hadn't beaten anyone of consequence for over 4 years until two weeks before the Tour started.

    Some would argue he still hasn't :wink:

    Maybe UAE should sign him to win the stages and jersey that Pog can't get.
    https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-of-belgium/2021/stage-5

    :)
  • larkim
    larkim Posts: 2,485
    Two cracked ribs and a punctured lung; ouch.

    https://road.cc/content/news/cavendish-hospitalised-after-heavy-crash-ghent-six-day-287983
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  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,057
    larkim said:

    Two cracked ribs and a punctured lung; ouch.

    https://road.cc/content/news/cavendish-hospitalised-after-heavy-crash-ghent-six-day-287983

    Oof! GWS Cav.
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  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,475
    Cav's finished. 👻
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,334
    Interesting interview with him at the weekend - interesting to compare a lot of what he says here with the way people online were speculating at the time, both this summer and previously:

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/nov/21/mark-cavendish-i-knew-i-could-be-top-again

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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    edited November 2021
    "who said that? internet forum people?"
    _
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Good article. I wonder what the chances are for TdF 2022 after that injury!
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,698
    QS seem to be going all in with Morkov/Jakobsen for the tour next year...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
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  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,253
    edited December 2021
    Nasty

    Twitter: @RichN95
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,927
    Takes the shine off his new contract.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,344
    That is utterly shocking!
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
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    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,124
    pblakeney said:

    That is utterly shocking!

    Probably JammiedodgerUK and 3 mates !
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  • dabber
    dabber Posts: 1,980
    The "what a shit old world" syndrome continues. Really sorry to for Cav and his family.
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

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  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,057
    Cav is leading a 60min recovery ride on Zwift at 1700GMT, last time I looked on Companion app there were 4475 riders planning to join him, he's going to break Zwift! :D
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  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    edited December 2021
    I think like most people, I've been on a bit of a journey with my sports-liking of Cav.

    I started off with him being the gobby upstart against my favourite rider Boonen.

    Then, after obviously being the best sprinter I felt he got too big for his boots, banging on about winning MSR which took the likes of Cippo an entire career to win, only then to go and win the thing, first try.

    I found the tantrummy style combined with utter dominance fairly dull and mildly irritating. There were a few wins where he really shouldn't have been winning which were exciting. The chip on the shoulder about "proving the doubters wrong" when plainly we all knew he was one of the greatest ever was a bit tiresome.

    I watched the Danish worlds with 🙄🙄🙄🙄, mega dull, but there was little doubt how good he was.

    Then I guess like most cycling fans I started to like him a bit more when he started winning less, and then by the end of his career I'm thinking I'll miss him and I wish more riders were stroppy like he was.



    Anyway, he should forever be immortalised on this forum not because he was the best sprinter the world has seen, but because he uttered the greatest line "who said that, internet forum people?"
    _

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