The Cavendish intervention

17 June 2010 | 0:00 - By Philip Gomes

Mark Cavendish showed up for work on stage five of the Tour de Suisse only to find some very unhappy workmates greeting him at the start line, writes Philip Gomes.

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HTC-Columbia's Mark Cavendish hits the deck during the fourth stage of the Tour de Suisse (AAP)

Imagine showing up for work one day only to find your workmates staging an intervention over your inability to obey workplace OH&S rules?

Well that's exactly what happened to Mark Cavendish prior to the start of the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse.

Ok, well maybe the rules of bicycle racing aren't as hard and fast as those applied by the OH&S bureaucrats, but in an environment where you really do often rely on your co-workers to ensure your safety, Cavendish pulled off a howler of a bad day at the office on stage four.

Not only did the Manx Mauler take himself out Djamolidine Abdoujaparov style, but like the legendary Tashkent Terror he also took out most of the peloton who had joined him in the sprint - and not many of them were happy campers at the morning water cooler.

"We just want to send a message to Cavendish to ask him for more respect," said AG2R sporting director Gilles Mas, whose team rider Sebastien Hinault was elbowed by the British rider in the fourth stage.

Worse still is the suggestion from subsequent unconfirmed reports that Cavendish spat at his primary adversary on that stage, Heinrich Haussler.

With incidents like this it's always good to hear how the elder statesmen of sprinting assess the situation, themselves having matured from raw aggressive young guns.

As Robbie McEwen observed to Cyclingnews when pinning the blame squarely on Cavendish, "[he] has gotten used to winning a lot in the last couple of years and things have gone very smoothly for him. But a pro athlete has to learn and accept that every year is not the same and how to deal with setbacks physically and mentally.

"He still has the talent and the speed. He has to figure out the best way to get back to his best and that seems to be by trial and error at the moment. He's a young guy who came up very quickly and is discovering new aspects about cycling and himself. He has many years left in front of him as a pro and for sure many victories."

Despite Haussler's post crash suggestion that he would have won had Cavendish not strayed from his line, the eventual stage winner, 36 year old Alessandro Petacchi, saw things differently.

"I don't know what happened in front. Maybe the wind had something to do with this unfortunate finish. I don't like winning this way. If Cavendish hadn't crashed, he would certainly have won."

Yes, even in losing Cavendish is acknowledged as the fastest man on two wheels amongst his sprinting peers.

This incident follows on from the recent one at the Tour de Romandie, where a return to form saw him win the second stage.

There, Cavendish gave the proverbial two fingered salute to assembled journalists as he crossed the line, annoyed at the criticism of his below par early season form. His team, HTC-Columbia, responded to that PR debacle by sending him home early.

Cavendish showed contrition following that incident, saying, "I apologise to everybody watching the race and especially the kids. I am not proud of releasing the feelings in that way. I hope I can redeem myself and show my feelings and passion for cycling with some exciting results in the next couple of months, rather than with a gesture such as the one [I made] yesterday."

But this time around no such similar apology was forthcoming. "I'm not gonna say that I wasn't wrong but I don't think I'm the one who should have taken all the blame. That's disappointing," said the HTC-Columbia rider.

Surely a full and frank apology to the men he spends several hours a day riding handlebar to handle bar with is as important as one to the kiddies?

A professional courtesy, an acknowledgement that clearly, again, he was in the wrong. But hey, how many of us really understands a sprinters mindset?

I love Cavendish, I love what he brings to the finish of a race, he's a journalists wet dream, allowing them to write copious column inches like this one, but clearly the burden of his immense sprinting talent is a heavy one for him to carry.

Hopefully it gets a bit lighter as the wins begin to flow again, as they most surely will, and he'll grow to enjoy the amazing gift that it is - winning both often and well.

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05 Jul 2010 19:59 AEST

boundary rider

From: Nth Sydney

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Wasn't M Cavendish the reason for the crash coming into the final 9 Km!!! This guy needed turn up for work tomorrow.

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26 Jun 2010 9:58 AEST

Matthew

From: the old country

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Ah, Marita. You remind me of my favourite cocktail. A man can never drink too many margheritas. Tequila = fantastic. I am, by the way, a fake git. McEwen was terrific, I agree. I was a fan of his. When he started racing, General de Gaulle was still in charge of France. McEwen took his inspiration from de Gaulle. Wasn't McEwen a team-mate of Eddy Merckx at one point ????

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25 Jun 2010 20:45 AEST

Marita

From: Melbourne

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Matthew from Liverpool...you are a real git. Cavendish is great...but his lead out train better. Give Me McEwen any day...fiery but fair.

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23 Jun 2010 20:13 AEST

Matthew

From: Same old same old

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Yo Paddy - don't get too upset, son. The sky isn't about to fall on your head. I don't remember accusing you ALL of being arrogant. Not even close, in fact. I said that plenty of Australian sportsmen were unpleasant and occasionally even criminal. It's true. Whether you agree with me or not is neither here nor there. I have made no generalisation about Australia, except to say that Cavendish would be criticised less there if he came from that country. Where are the "half-truths" and "clear hatred" ??? I am guessing you just had a bad day at work, which is fair enough. Nothing I wrote comes close to substantiating your strange comments. Again, I have no "biased views": I don't have a strong view about Cavendish, but the Convicts would be happier to accept him if he came from Australia. So, Paddy, tell me where I have committed the crimes which have so upset you. As I said earlier, it must just have been a bad day at work ( or school.....).

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23 Jun 2010 16:41 AEST

Bill

From: Melbourne

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He may well find out soon that the peleton can hand out very rough justice if it chooses.

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23 Jun 2010 10:43 AEST

Paddy

From: QLD

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so Matthew from England says "I do think my point is fair because many great Australian sportsmen ( excluding John Eales ) are pretty dodgy characters." So if we don't agree with you now are we ALL arrogant? Pretty big assumption and generalisation there mate. What you're displaying is something that comes pretty easy to people from your part of the world - criticising and generalising about the entire nation of Australia. It's tiring and a little pathetic, based on half truths and displays a clear hatred. Isn't this article about cycling? Yet you persist in using any type of reference to support your biased views. Face it when it comes to Cav its not so much the incident but how he behaved afterwards. You might be better to stick to websites that don't have the .au.

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23 Jun 2010 1:21 AEST

Matthew

From: Liverpool, England

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Agreed, Mike, and I should reiterate that I am not one of Mark Cavendish's followers. Although he seems to have acquired a Liverpool accent, Cavendish and I are not best friends or anything. I do think, however, that it would be a good idea to bring back the biff. The sprint is meant to be a madhouse, no ? The occasional elbow in the face isn't going to cause too many problems. Djamolidine Abdoujaparov has a few scars but he's a legend. If it's any consolation, I am normally a fan of Italians. It's something to do with opera or pizza or their women. I like Mario Cipollini and the late Marco Pantani. Heroes.

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22 Jun 2010 20:55 AEST

Ash

From: Canberra

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What's cycling without passion? Nothing. Great posts everyone. For mine it was a move that many before him have tried and won with. This isn't the first time a sprinter has veered off line in the dying moments nor will it be the last. Cav was unlucky in his careless aggression to have hit Haussler as i'm almost certain Cav didn't want to eat gravel at 70kmph as much as the others. Totally unrelated - I don't know him from a bar of soap but i hope Kim Kirchen recovers and that we see him back in the peleton sooner rather than later.

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22 Jun 2010 9:14 AEST

Mike

From: Lismore

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Supporting a sportsperson or team because they come from ‘our’ country can make for good entertainment, but when a bunch of cyclists ride at high speed with centimetres separating them, a wrong move can have very serious consequences. So I hope that national bias can be put aside in such situations. I hope we can judge Canvendish’s behaviour on its merits, rather than criticise or defend him on the basis of where he comes from.

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21 Jun 2010 12:06 AEST

Matthew

From: Liverpool, England

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Hi Mike from Lismore. First of all, Cavendish is not from England. I am 100 % happy to see Cavendish criticised. I would rather have a beer with John Eales, say, than with the Manx chap. However, my argument was that Australians would be more reluctant to criticise one of their own. Shane Warne has a few flaws but is a great sportsman. Andrew Johns has many flaws but is a great sportsman. I do think my point is fair because many great Australian sportsmen ( excluding John Eales ) are pretty dodgy characters. I ain't Cavendish's no. 1 fan, but he hasn't murdered anyone. Best wishes, Mike.

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