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The straw that stirs the drink
It's getting hard to add to the superlatives already said about Mark
Cavendish, he is quite clearly the fastest and most exciting man on two
wheels.
Yes, he was beaten by another fast man today in stage two of the Giro, Alessandro Petacchi.....just.
But judging by Petacchi's post race comments, it's pretty obvious who he sees as the man to beat.
"I want to thank and compliment my teammates. I was on Cavendish's
wheel. I had been asking myself for several days how to beat him. We'd
never previously gone head to head in a sprint. He's a great champion."
Yes it's all about Mark Cavendish, even when he loses he wins.
One thing you can say about the man from the Isle of Man is that he's
no shrinking violet, telling it as he sees it, and I think for a sport
that's in serious need of some positive media excitement "Cav" is the
perfect antidote to the usual measured responses we hear from many of
our athletes.
Cavendish, is a guy you either love or loathe, except
for one thing, he always delivers when it counts and he always gets
people talking about the racing and the rivalries.
He really knows how to stir the drink but he backs it up and does it in a way that keeps you begging for more.
Here is Cavendish on the the eve of the Giro talking about Garmin-Slipstream's time trial obsession.
“The thing about it is that the Giro’s 21 days, I think it’s a bit disrespectful to the race [Garmin staking so much on this]… Your race is going to start on the first day and end on the first day, and that’s what Garmin are fundamentally doing. They’ve said their season starts tomorrow. Their sponsor’s paid money for the first six months of the year [sic]…and I think that’s highly respectful to those guys. It’s May. Their season starts tomorrow and I think it’s going to end tomorrow night. I mean, come on..."
He stirs and then he goes on to claim the Maglia Rosa with the help of his Columbia team in the opening teams time trial. The drink was champagne.
I look forward to seeing Garmin-Slipstream respond to this slam dunk with a stage win of their own.
The sport could do worse than run a global media campaign with Cavendish as it's poster boy.
Garmin Slipstream's Johnathan Vaughters understands this, saying, "the one comment I have about the past few days is this: Thank goodness we have a controversy in cycling that doesn’t have to do with doping."
Referring no doubt to the bad press of Belgian pin-up boy Tom Boonen's cocaine problem.
Cavendish brings a huge amount of fresh air to pro cycling, he leaves us salivating at what he will do with his next burst of speed - even when he loses we win.
Your Say
sydney
i totally agree with cavendish. Garmin were only thinking of the TTT. When you go inot a stage race you would target many various stages or a jersey competition. Garmin are being arrogant
Melbourne
Mchael from Hurstville, I agree, a bit of Cipollini is definitely a good thing!
Wagga
So it's disrespectful to only target a time trial? So when will Cavendish target a mountain stage? Or maybe if it is disrespectful to only target select stages of a tour then I guess Cavendish (who of course is never disrespectful!) should start aiming for GC. Git.
Melbourne
Lets not lose sight of the fact that ,for the most part , Cavendish is a 'Sprinter' and the first few days of the Giro are all about the Sprinters. Im not trying to take anything away from Cavendish , who is clearly a gifted rider with amazing prowess as a sprinter , but lets wait and see how he goes in the mountain stages... The Giro is mostly known for its gruelling mountain stages , the first of which starts shortly.... My respect is reserved for the riders who can hang on when the going gets 'tough' , not just on the flats.... riders like Menchov , Cancellara and others... No offence , but i will be surprised if he (Cavendish) even fronts up to start some of these stages.... hats off to the " real " riders..... thanks..
Sydney
Hey Gregg from Melbourne, get with the program, cycling is one of the truly international sports, look at the make up of (most) teams ...whinging pom, c'mon, OK you don't like the guy, I get that, can you get the excitment factor though? ps I agree with you the aforementioned riders are for the most part gracious, but not without their moments of pique.
Brisbane
I think you might have th wrong end of the stick, Gregg from Melbourne. You need to pop over to cricket central if you want to leave comments about the Australian Cricket team. I for one have never heard Cavendish whinge - quite the opposite, in fact. He never blames others if he doesn't get the win. He is highly self-critical - as many successful people are. And he has always been generous in his praise for his competitors, especially McEwen who he publicly acknowledged was the rider he most aspired to be like.
Hurstville
"He's got Cipollini written all over him"? Nothing wrong with that. The sport of cycling needs personalties like Cipo. If Cav has the arrogance and mongrel to fit the bill, that suits me fine...
Melbourne
He's also a whingeing, loudmouth, pom which smacks of bad sportsmanship. Many of the others mentioned previously have been gracious in both defeat and victory.
Melbourne
Couldn't agree more Nicholas from Brisbane... It took me some time to get used to the fact that there was a new sprinter around, perhaps I was resistant because I'm a fan of the 'older' sprinters like Robbie, Thor, Zabel, Boonen, Freire and any newbies would be a threat..! But watching his performace in the TdF '08 was magical - that exciting, explosive pace, always with great timing and position. He's got Cipollini written all over him...
Brisbane
I have to admit it has taken me a little while to warm to 'Cav'. I remember all the hype around his debut in Le Tour in 2007 - especially his targetting of the stage to Canterbury which was so spectacularly won by that other 'pocket rocket', Robbie McEwen. But after his string of successes in 2008 and his stunning win in Milan-San Remo on debut earlier this year, I have been well and truly won over. I love his style of racing. I love his sheer speed when the time counts. I love his ability to deliver on the promises he makes to his team mates and his fans. I love how he's a little lippy too. But most of all I love the fact that he reminds me why I love cycling so much in the first place. He's still so young; and he still has so much to learn. It's staggering to think just how good his palmares will be when he's done.
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