Cav F-bombs San Luis

In what was probably the most exciting thing to ever happen at the Tour de San Luis, Mark Cavendish gave a masterclass in how to be controversial in a pre-event press conference and now everyone knows about the Argentine race.

Today's athletes are in a difficult spot at press conferences and interviews; be brutally honest or come across as robotic and uninteresting. Cavendish has always sat in the former camp, never anodyne, always interesting and to the point.

Like his compatriot, Bradley Wiggins, Cavendish lets it all hang out. It's one of the things which makes him a winner. You see that personality expressed in his balls-out racing style.

Asked if he was 100 per cent sure all professional riders aren't taking drugs, Cav strafed the Argie audience and questioning journalist like a fighter pilot during the Guerra de las Malvinas.

"Can you tell me 100 per cent that one of these journalists isn't f**king your wife?"

You can watch the entire exchange below.

The usual pearl clutchers will of course gasp in horror and give him a hammering, but I would much rather know what he really thinks, salty language included, instead of the usual canned media manager-approved response.

The sport is better if our athletes are allowed to express themselves. In that way we all know where we stand and we begin to understand it in a deeper and richer way.

Cav's response is a good reminder that the riders are not robots, but thinking, feeling flesh and blood people. I wish more were like him.

So a memo to team media managers: you are stifling your riders and they are more often than not boring and uninteresting. Let them off the leash, they clearly have a lot to say. Let them say it, and we can all have fun, honest conversations that everyone will want to read and watch.

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