Should Mark Cavendish swallow his pride and retire?
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Got a soft spot for this one, mainly because of the commentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya5wNG2ELzg 0 -
Sunday really showed what he could still do if he had a competent team.1
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I would be very interested in listening to Cav spend 30mins-1hr on how sprinting has changed (or not) from when he started in 2007 to now in 2023.
Not often you get a sprinter who's at the sharp end for quite so long, let alone winning a bunch of them.2 -
Not to mention one that really studies his art and has such a detailed memoryrick_chasey said:I would be very interested in listening to Cav spend 30mins-1hr on how sprinting has changed (or not) from when he started in 2007 to now in 2023.
Not often you get a sprinter who's at the sharp end for quite so long, let alone winning a bunch of them.Warning No formatter is installed for the format1 -
Well you won't have long to wait for his post-retirement one man show at a theatre near you.rick_chasey said:I would be very interested in listening to Cav spend 30mins-1hr on how sprinting has changed (or not) from when he started in 2007 to now in 2023.
Not often you get a sprinter who's at the sharp end for quite so long, let alone winning a bunch of them.1 -
Take my money. I don't care how muchgethinceri said:
Well you won't have long to wait for his post-retirement one man show at a theatre near you.rick_chasey said:I would be very interested in listening to Cav spend 30mins-1hr on how sprinting has changed (or not) from when he started in 2007 to now in 2023.
Not often you get a sprinter who's at the sharp end for quite so long, let alone winning a bunch of them.3 -
Seems he's still a pretty good sprinter after all, based on getting through a brutal Giro and final performance in Rome.
Always in stealth mode1 -
"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 pm1
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That's sublime.0
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And there's the one on the Champs Elysees with the amazing tracking shot alongside where you see him just blow everyone away.Always in stealth mode1
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Gee was cool, but that LLS was helping him last Sunday was perfect...mididoctors said:We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
I’d forgotten just how crazy that win was. Not just the catch but that once the break was caught Cav was on his own with a long way still to go and the some other sprinters behind but he won by a huge distance.
Also, people say how boring Wiggins was in winning that Tour but there he is putting in a huge effort not to avoid losing time or gain time on his rivals but to help his mate win the stage.
It’s hard to think that Tyler Farrar was once considered to be a major rival to Cav too!0 -
Tradgic freaking accident . The stretch of road was so innocuous too. I didn't know that it had effected Tyler so much . The bunch were shocked the next day alrightRichN95. said:
He was never the same after Wouter Weylandt diedPross said:
It’s hard to think that Tyler Farrar was once considered to be a major rival to Cav too!
"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 pm0 -
I've never seen anyone so able to do ~1km or ~30s pulls like Wiggins. The last Olympic pursuit GB won was another whew he quietly just re-arranged the entire racePross said:
Also, people say how boring Wiggins was in winning that Tour but there he is putting in a huge effort not to avoid losing time or gain time on his rivals but to help his mate win the stage.
We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
I'm still shocked that they showed his dead body on TV.mididoctors said:
Tradgic freaking accident . The stretch of road was so innocuous too. I didn't know that it had effected Tyler so much . The bunch were shocked the next day alrightRichN95. said:
He was never the same after Wouter Weylandt diedPross said:
It’s hard to think that Tyler Farrar was once considered to be a major rival to Cav too!0 -
Ganna? He rode most of final kilo in the Tokyo TP on the front, pegging back nearly 0.9s against the Danes.ddraver said:
I've never seen anyone so able to do ~1km or ~30s pulls like Wiggins. The last Olympic pursuit GB won was another whew he quietly just re-arranged the entire racePross said:
Also, people say how boring Wiggins was in winning that Tour but there he is putting in a huge effort not to avoid losing time or gain time on his rivals but to help his mate win the stage.
Close call. Both awesome riders.0 -
Fair point. Nice to have three strong enough that you can save Ganna for the sharp end of things!ddraver said:I thought Ganna, but that was obviously a plan...
Wiggins rode the whole race as normal, got to about a k to go, shrugged and thought, "meh, I'll just win it then..."0 -
What percentage of a sprinters form is down to confidence? Cav’s Giro win will work wonders. More to come.Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי3
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Yep, it's that unquantifiable thing because it's not "form" as such. How many times he's sat up out of position thinking it's not worth crashing for 3rd/4th, but that win will make him stick with a few more sprints and may pick up a couple based just on that.seanoconn said:What percentage of a sprinters form is down to confidence? Cav’s Giro win will work wonders. More to come.
Whether he's got the team to keep it strung out & safe like the final Giro stage is a different thing. Reduced field & not having the GC guys stressing so much would have helped in Rome0 -
It's Italian TV.....remember San Marino 1994? Both Ratzenburger & Senna were lifeless* and the cameras were hovering over them being worked on. Fortunately the Beeb cut away...TheBigBean said:
I'm still shocked that they showed his dead body on TV.mididoctors said:
Tradgic freaking accident . The stretch of road was so innocuous too. I didn't know that it had effected Tyler so much . The bunch were shocked the next day alrightRichN95. said:
He was never the same after Wouter Weylandt diedPross said:
It’s hard to think that Tyler Farrar was once considered to be a major rival to Cav too!
*Not reported dead at the time as under Italian law the race would be cancelled.All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."0 -
From the Astana team currently on PCS, it looks like they have Gruzdev, Fedorov and Bol to support him. He needs to tell them to not worry about the last km, just to keep him vaguely in the right place up till then, because they simply aren't good enough.andytee87 said:
Yep, it's that unquantifiable thing because it's not "form" as such. How many times he's sat up out of position thinking it's not worth crashing for 3rd/4th, but that win will make him stick with a few more sprints and may pick up a couple based just on that.seanoconn said:What percentage of a sprinters form is down to confidence? Cav’s Giro win will work wonders. More to come.
Whether he's got the team to keep it strung out & safe like the final Giro stage is a different thing. Reduced field & not having the GC guys stressing so much would have helped in Rome0 -
Yeah, his issues were between about 3k to go to 1k to go. Before that he always had support but after it he was too far back to have a chance
The stage by the seaside last Wednesday was a perfect example of that0 -
I do wonder if he also slightly less inclined to take risks to hold the position he wants these days and also whether his opponents are less fearful / respectful of him so more prepared to push him out. It would be a pretty normal response when your nearing retirement, have had a lot of crashes over the years, have other responsibilities in life and are less confident that the risks will be rewarded. Again, the confidence from that win may also mean he would be prepared to take the extra risk especially to break the Tour record.takethehighroad said:Yeah, his issues were between about 3k to go to 1k to go. Before that he always had support but after it he was too far back to have a chance
The stage by the seaside last Wednesday was a perfect example of that0 -
Undoubtedly when a sprinter has kids they lose a little of their edge. I think even Cav used to say in his earlier career that he would 'target' Dads as he knew they would be less prepared to go for a gap he was.
Of course that goes out the window when he's still been sprinting and his daughter is 11 now 😂
At the same time, Cav has always been someone who would go the extra mile for a specific goal. The first stage in 2014 is a case in point, he was so desperate to win that stage he went for a gap that wasn't there0 -
I don't think it's having kids it's just being a bit older. Willingness to take risks declines with age - it's that paradox that the less life you have left the more you take care of it.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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And knowledge that you don’t bounce as well in your late 30s as in your early 20s.DeVlaeminck said:I don't think it's having kids it's just being a bit older. Willingness to take risks declines with age - it's that paradox that the less life you have left the more you take care of it.
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The old adage goes that sprinters get worse after kids while GC riders get better.DeVlaeminck said:I don't think it's having kids it's just being a bit older. Willingness to take risks declines with age - it's that paradox that the less life you have left the more you take care of it.
Twitter: @RichN950 -
Good excuse for three weeks away from the kids!RichN95. said:
The old adage goes that sprinters get worse after kids while GC riders get better.DeVlaeminck said:I don't think it's having kids it's just being a bit older. Willingness to take risks declines with age - it's that paradox that the less life you have left the more you take care of it.
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https://youtu.be/jQedKbxiuBA
