Should Mark Cavendish swallow his pride and retire?

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  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,334
    Sprint tactics always evolve depending on what else is in the peloton. Regardless of anything else though, Cavendish's career has shown more or less the full gamut of tactics - he's freestyled on the back of other wheels in the McEwan style, come off the back of a train like Cipollini, and appropriated a yellow jersey winner on the Champs Elysees for whatever the heck that was. And he's been able to go head to head with at least three, and arguably four, generations of sprinters in a game that seems guaranteed to do your head in sooner rather than later.

    As impressive as the palmares are, and as staggering as peak Cav was, it's the sheer longevity that really sets Cavendish apart right now.

    (Oh, and 2021 - regardless of whether it needed Cavendish specifically to finish off the work of QS, there are very few riders that can be called up to a team at the last minute and slot in quite that easily, or have the team immediately work their nuts off for them)
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    edited January 2023
    I am not so sure .....I think sprinting goes through cycles (pun) of change with tactics falling in and out of fashion.... It's almost stone paper scissors kinda deal .. 50k attrition, 3km sprint chain, 2k 2 man pilot ,single rider wheel surfer . They have been around in somewhat different forms I grant you as far back as I remember. Chipollinis sprint train etc. Not completely sold on it was different back in the day ... It was different back in the day . All Sorts of different .

    I think because of changing parcours designed for the TV we are seeing more reduced sprints . They often throw in some obstacle to thin the sprinters out in the final
    "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
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,124
    edited January 2023
    daniel_b said:


    I hope he stays fit, can avoid crashes, has some good wins, and can get to the Tour full of confidence. I'd love to see him bag at least two stages.

    last season, with the Milan Turin was not too shabby for him, a nice win that as it would normally be out of his reach.

    Getting a stage at the Tour is going to be an absolutely massive achievement tbh. It is not going to be easy at all.

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  • sherer
    sherer Posts: 2,460
    andyp said:

    sherer said:

    I do like the jersey, although I think his British Championshit one with quick step looked better, although that never made it for sale.

    Im not really a fan of turning the Union Flag into three strips \ bands though. German and Aus ones looks great like this, but from the emotive design that is the Union Flag I sometimes feel it's a missed opportunity.

    I still think Banesto's design for Jeremy Hunt was the classiest British National Champion's jersey:


    Must have missed that one at the time. I do like that as it retains the Union Flag which is much more iconic than just three bands
  • Dialatron
    Dialatron Posts: 1,101
    Is today the day?
    Old, fat and that's just the bike.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,553
  • red.rider
    red.rider Posts: 1,215
    https://youtu.be/pYCV480jCwY
    Thanks for everything, Cav
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 7,573
    A stellar career, and an ispiration to so many. He really put Britain on the modern cycling map.
    Now go get that TdF win.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    4 years after the thread was started.
    _
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,334
    rick_chasey said:

    4 years after the thread was started.

    And arguably the answer is still "no" - he's knocking on the door of more GT stage wins and he clearly brings a lot to teams in terms of experience and leadership.

    I'm pleased for him that he seems to be making the decision to retire on his terms, rather than it being forced on him through either injury or lack of offers.
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,106
    He's 38 - really doesn't seem long ago he was the young sprinter making waves. One of the era defining riders.

    If it wasn't such a brutal sport I'd say why not carry on but when you see them hit the tarmac hard you wonder why they carry on any longer than they have to.
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  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    rick_chasey said:

    4 years after the thread was started.

    Feels longer ....he did well battling through epstien barr .

    He still.gad the skill just not quite the speed ...he had that perfect positioning the day he came 3rd in the giro . I hope he has better luck in the tour ... And the remaining giro
    "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
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    If you'd told me as a 15 year old that cycling's best ever sprinter would be a Brit who was married to a page 3 model, I'd have thought you'd lost your mind.
    _
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,334
    Worth watching this clip to the end for the trademark "Cavendish realising some idiot's going to print what he just said" moment...

    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    And let’s not forget he uttered the ultimate BR line ever: “who said that, internet forum people?”
    _
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,656
    "My greatest achievement is giving the name to the annual Bike Radar frorum thread for races that don't get their own thread"
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  • josame
    josame Posts: 1,162
    Lanterne_Rogue said:

    rick_chasey said:

    4 years after the thread was started.

    And arguably the answer is still "no" - he's knocking on the door of more GT stage wins and he clearly brings a lot to teams in terms of experience and leadership.

    I'm pleased for him that he seems to be making the decision to retire on his terms, rather than it being forced on him through either injury or lack of offers.
    Lovely sentiments but the geezer has won diddly squat this year and not even close at the Giro... a rider knows when he's no longer in the game

    of course he may win a Tdf stage with the added motivation but that's not really the point
    'Do not compare your bike to others, for always there will be greater and lesser bikes'
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    josame said:

    Lanterne_Rogue said:

    rick_chasey said:

    4 years after the thread was started.

    And arguably the answer is still "no" - he's knocking on the door of more GT stage wins and he clearly brings a lot to teams in terms of experience and leadership.

    I'm pleased for him that he seems to be making the decision to retire on his terms, rather than it being forced on him through either injury or lack of offers.
    Lovely sentiments but the geezer has won diddly squat this year and not even close at the Giro... a rider knows when he's no longer in the game

    of course he may win a Tdf stage with the added motivation but that's not really the point
    He's been 3rd and 4th in this Giro so he's hardly in the Froome camp.
  • josame
    josame Posts: 1,162
    phreak said:

    josame said:

    Lanterne_Rogue said:

    rick_chasey said:

    4 years after the thread was started.

    And arguably the answer is still "no" - he's knocking on the door of more GT stage wins and he clearly brings a lot to teams in terms of experience and leadership.

    I'm pleased for him that he seems to be making the decision to retire on his terms, rather than it being forced on him through either injury or lack of offers.
    Lovely sentiments but the geezer has won diddly squat this year and not even close at the Giro... a rider knows when he's no longer in the game

    of course he may win a Tdf stage with the added motivation but that's not really the point
    He's been 3rd and 4th in this Giro so he's hardly in the Froome camp.
    Well Froome is on another level re former greats still riding, a 4th for Cav (with that opposition) may as well be last. Although it is that opposition's superiority that is telling, especially Milan. His 3rd was the most evident - two years ago he would have won and had time to point at the sponsor on his jersey.
    'Do not compare your bike to others, for always there will be greater and lesser bikes'
  • josame
    josame Posts: 1,162
    edited May 2023
    gethinceri said:

    Have a word with yourself.


    #truthhurts
    'Do not compare your bike to others, for always there will be greater and lesser bikes'
  • bianchi_dave
    bianchi_dave Posts: 933
    To be fair, 38 is old for any rider these days, never mind a top level sprinter, and its good he gets to retire on his own terms. He won't recover like he used to, that's for sure!

    (As a brit) he's one of the very few riders who've had me jumping up and down in the living room (watching TV, obvs!). A shame that an Olympic gold eluded him, but one hell of a palmares for anyone, never mind a little guy from a little island.
    Not that he'll read this, but thanks Mark!

    PS - Now go and take that TDF record!
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  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,235
    So, will The Peloton give him that one more TdF stage win?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    orraloon said:

    So, will The Peloton give him that one more TdF stage win?

    Nah. Doesn’t count if it’s gifted.
    _
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 2,293
    rick_chasey said:

    orraloon said:

    So, will The Peloton give him that one more TdF stage win?

    Nah. Doesn’t count if it’s gifted.
    I don't think he'd accept it if they did.

    Hope he manages to get to (and round) the tour and can at least ride up the Champs-Elysees at the head of the peloton to say goodbye
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,183
    JimD666 said:


    Hope he manages to get to (and round) the tour and can at least ride up the Champs-Elysees at the head of the peloton to say goodbye

    This
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,183
    While QS had their reasons, he would have been competitive last year- was in good form in the spring with giro stage and Torino win.

    And the biggest if them all, british nationals.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,344
    orraloon said:

    So, will The Peloton give him that one more TdF stage win?

    Can you just imagine Merckx's response? 🤣
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  • wallace_and_gromit
    wallace_and_gromit Posts: 3,638
    Part of me wants Cav to not ride the Tour this year and thus remain level with Merckx. It wasn't very edifying two years ago when Merckx was whinging that his 34 wins were better than Cav's and Cav beating his record would doubtless force Merckx to "break cover" and start whinging again.

    But the main part of me wants Cav to go out in style, which would certainly be the case if he did bag another Tour win.

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