Cav's green glasses gesture

Slideshowbob

S Roche saying on Eurosport that Cav needs to tone down his attitude

I'd agree

That thing with glasses yesterday could be seen as a dangerous - what comes first if someone came out in front of him - the glasses or the bike control

Chips Lovell

Slideshowbob wrote: »

S Roche saying on Eurosport that Cav needs to tone down his attitude

I'd agree

That thing with glasses yesterday could be seen as a dangerous - what comes first if someone came out in front of him - the glasses or the bike control

So holding a pair of glasses is more dangerous than throwing your arms up in the air now?

DirkVoodoo

Why would someone come out in front of the sprinters as they cross the line? They have pretty damn good bike control anyway.

I think Cav is a legend, I love the brash cockiness (surprise). He is the best sprinter and he knows it, but he is always the first to thank his team mates.

I think we could do without the hissy fits, but he is still young and learning his trade.

Woohoo, go Cav!

AstraMonti

Probably i am not getting the whole best sprinter thing. He doesn't do actually anything else than wheel sucking in the whole ride, and 200mts before the finish he jumps ahead and sprints and wins. Hurray..? Also his attitude is not appealing at all to me, although i can give him that he always thanks his teammates (who actually did 98% percent of the job anyway)!

Slideshowbob

el tonto wrote: »

So holding a pair of glasses is more dangerous than throwing your arms up in the air now?

ya i think so!

Cav shows disrespect to Thor Husvord

sneem-man

There was nothing dangerous with the removal of the specs,but Roche was bang on about Cav's cockiness...

Nietzschean

Slideshowbob wrote: »

Cav shows disrespect to Thor Husvord

disrespect because he enjoy's his win/gloats a bit going over the line?

Captain Havoc

I wouldn't look too much into the glasses thing. He's hardly going to gest that he doesn't want the green jersey is he? I think people read too much into these things, is he being cocky or just competitive?

ednwireland

AstraMonti wrote: »

Probably i am not getting the whole best sprinter thing. He doesn't do actually anything else than wheel sucking in the whole ride, and 200mts before the finish he jumps ahead and sprints and wins. Hurray..? Also his attitude is not appealing at all to me, although i can give him that he always thanks his teammates (who actually did 98% percent of the job anyway)!

meh, get over it
cav RULES !(in the sprints when hes towed along to the last 200m nowhere else honest)

trad

AstraMonti wrote: »

Probably i am not getting the whole best sprinter thing. He doesn't do actually anything else than wheel sucking in the whole ride, and 200mts before the finish he jumps ahead and sprints and wins. Hurray..? Also his attitude is not appealing at all to me, although i can give him that he always thanks his teammates (who actually did 98% percent of the job anyway)!

well if you can hang on day after day up to 200 km and still beat the rest fair play to you. You still have to get to the last kilometer in the first 20 to win the stage, oh and beat the best of the rest.

mloc123

Missed the highlights last night, what did he do?

Lumen

I've seen some longish video interviews with Cavendish on Youtube, and he comes across "nice but dim", though neither as nice nor as dim as the great SK.

Nietzschean

http://bit.ly/ovBjf if renshaw is at 68/69 and cav can rocket off upwards from there after a full day's cycling in his legs its pretty impressive. Though after a long day, managing to organise at the front of the peloton and pull that off is a pretty cool team effort, cav might get the jersey but he/they all recognise it as a team win...

Quigs Snr

I am not a huge Cav fan, but at least he adds a bit of character to things. Something the sport, in fact any sport needs even if for many people its a love to hate kind of relationship. The more characters, the more profile, sponsorship etc... that the sport attracts.

stuf

The fact that Thor Hushovd was on Cav's wheel effectively getting the same tow and you could see the despair and bewilderment in his face speaks volumes about Cav's ability yesterday - class sprinting.

Chips Lovell

Slideshowbob wrote: »

ya i think so!

How is it more dangerous?

Slideshowbob wrote: »

Cav shows disrespect to Thor Husvord

Why? Lots of riders have their own victory gesture as they pass the line. Cavendish's schtick is that he does something different every time, whether it's miming a phone call or pointing at his crotch (which was a shout out to Dave Zabriskie's chamois cream). I can't see where the disrespect is. It's not like he's turning around and giving him the finger.

sneem-man wrote: »

Roche was bang on about Cav's cockiness...

It's the kind of rider he is. I think he thrives on it. In other words, he needs to talk himself up to win.

AstraMonti wrote: »

Probably i am not getting the whole best sprinter thing. He doesn't do actually anything else than wheel sucking in the whole ride, and 200mts before the finish he jumps ahead and sprints and wins. Hurray..? Also his attitude is not appealing at all to me, although i can give him that he always thanks his teammates (who actually did 98% percent of the job anyway)!

You try it and tell me how easy it is. Seriously, it not only requires real talent but it's also extraordinarily technically difficult to get right. And while he does have a great leadout, he is capable of winning without one. A lot of his early victories involved him freelancing sprints. Even with the best leadout in the world, you won't win unless you're a great sprinter.

AstraMonti

I wish i could do it El Tonto:) As i said i probably don't get this, i am new to the racing scene. I much more appreciate the effort on the mountains, than just just a sprint in the end. But they are probably two different things to compare, and i surely understand that you need to be the best of the rest sprinters to win, or just have a better leadout (which he does have as columbia works great together). At the end of the day, it's mainly his attitude that i don't follow, so my opinion is probably biased. Hope that cleared things a bit!

Raam

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/383123/cavendish-s-odd-stage-10-finish-line-celebration-explained.html

Chips Lovell

Raam wrote: »

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/383123/cavendish-s-odd-stage-10-finish-line-celebration-explained.html

There you have it, it's another nod to a sponsor. Can't see why this is any different to someone pointing to the logo on their chest.

Forgot that Zabel was working with Columbia this year.

DirkVoodoo

Damn, should have bought the anti-freeze Radars:

Link

Slideshowbob

el tonto wrote: »

There you have it, it's another nod to a sponsor. Can't see why this is any different to someone pointing to the logo on their chest.

Forgot that Zabel was working with Columbia this year.

looks like thor is wearing those same glasses today

GO THORRRRRRRRRRRRR

Raam

Slideshowbob wrote: »

looks like thor is wearing those same glasses today

GO THORRRRRRRRRRRRR

I dunno if they are the exact same. A few lads in the peloton have green sunnies. Will have to get close up pics and investigate!

Chips Lovell

Raam wrote: »

Will have to get close up pics and investigate!

No better man. I nominate you as Boards Sunglasses Correspondent.

Nietzschean

is Renshaw wearing a pair of the same glasses in that vid i posted?

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Damn, should have bought the anti-freeze Radars:

Link

I think Cav has Jawbones, which aren't even listed on the UK site.

Liamo08

It'll be interesting to see how Cav behaves once he loses his edge and isn't winning every sprint or someone else comes along who's quicker than him.

Raam

Liamo08 wrote: »

It'll be interesting to see how Cav behaves once he loses his edge and isn't winning every sprint or someone else comes along who's quicker than him.

We might be waiting for a while!

blorg

AstraMonti wrote: »

Probably i am not getting the whole best sprinter thing. He doesn't do actually anything else than wheel sucking in the whole ride, and 200mts before the finish he jumps ahead and sprints and wins. Hurray..?

Yes, hurray! That is what a sprinter does, they peg it in the last few hundred metres... Bear in mind they have to get there first, something Cav has been getting better at this year. And as Tonto says it is actually technically difficult and takes some skill (as I have been finding out myself starting racing this year.) This is bike racing, not some sort of measurement of effort expended over a stage! First over the line wins, it is not really correct to suggest that the team does 98% of the work as they would not be winning the stages without Cav!

Having said all that I do think Cav's gestures are cheesy and a bit corporate, there is a thread over on BikeRadar where I agreed with this poster:

teagar wrote:

I think it's the idea that his win is celebrated as a corporate win rather than a personal achievement that grates slightly. ...

Sure, you make sure the sponsor's name is seen, but I'd hope that "great for the sponsor" isn't the first thing that pops into the winner's head.

You want to see that the win to mean something to the rider, not just the sponsor.

This is entirely it for me, I am glad to see him win but the victory salutes are very cheesy and for me they detract from the whole idea of the sporting competition to the idea he is just an employee doing his job. Saw an interview on one of the stages where he laid it out, he is a professional bike rider and his job is exposure for the sponsors. But that's not why we watch a bike race!

I know sponsors are essential and if at all possible you shouldn't be coming over the line like Feillu but I appreciate that sort of win more...



No problem with any cylist celebrating, but Cav's are just coming across as very corporate. Still hope he wins in Paris and takes the green jersey... bonus points if Hushovd is in green starting the stage

Mr Velo

Thing that annoyed me about Cavendish yesterday was that pre yesterday's stage he was interviewed and basically said he didn't care about the green jersey, he just wanted to reach Paris.

If he had the green jersey, great, if not, then he didn't care....

Then he wins yesterday's stage, holds out his green sunglasses - then when interviewed afterwards says that he loves the green jersey and wants it back....

Cocky f**ker... am i the only one that would like to see him go down (physically) in a sprint finish???

petethedrummer

AstraMonti wrote: »

it's mainly his attitude that i don't follow, so my opinion is probably biased.

I suppose when you win a sprint there must be different things going on in your head and body than when you win a long drawn out slog. Alot of the running sprinters are also cocky showboaters. Yet from 800m up noone ever show boats.

Also part of the difficulty of sprinting is getting to the end of a stage, you need a mix of endurance and speed. So into the second week of the Tour, he's been over some high mountains with his sprinters build, and still has the zip in his legs to pummel his rivals in a sprint. Chris Hoy would hammer him in a one off 200m sprint but Chris probably couldn't get to the Sally gap any quicker than any of us.

Chips Lovell

You could totally tell Feillu was a noob when he took that stage.

Liamo08

Raam wrote: »

We might be waiting for a while!

Maybe but there's been dominant sprinters in the past that looked unbeatable for a year or two then looked beatable when the next big thing came along. I'd be very surprised if Cav is this dominant for too long.

ednwireland

Paddy_Fowler wrote: »

Thing that annoyed me about Cavendish yesterday was that pre yesterday's stage he was interviewed and basically said he didn't care about the green jersey, he just wanted to reach Paris.

If he had the green jersey, great, if not, then he didn't care....

Then he wins yesterday's stage, holds out his green sunglasses - then when interviewed afterwards says that he loves the green jersey and wants it back....

Cocky f**ker... am i the only one that would like to see him go down (physically) in a sprint finish???

unfair i think, he has always said his first aim is to reach paris , he's said that all along and he wants to win on the champs elysee (who doesn't). what i understood him to say was that his first aim is to reach paris, second to win stages and if the green jersey comes as part of that then great but he's not burning himself out chasing intermediate sprints to get the green jersey.

or maybe i'm a cav fanboy i dont want to see anyone down in a sprint (not even lance) the injuries are usually fairly horrific

Mr Velo

ednwireland wrote: »

unfair i think, he has always said his first aim is to reach paris , he's said that all along and he wants to win on the champs elysee (who doesn't). what i understood him to say was that his first aim is to reach paris, second to win stages and if the green jersey comes as part of that then great but he's not burning himself out chasing intermediate sprints to get the green jersey.

or maybe i'm a cav fanboy i dont want to see anyone down in a sprint (not even lance) the injuries are usually fairly horrific

Fanboy!!!!

Ah no - point taken. I was a bit out of line meaning the guy harm there.
Don't think the guy does himself any favours with his cockiness however. Be interesting to see if he'll have as good a team of lead out riders when he rides for Team Sky next year!!

Hungrycol

What's Cav's telephone gesture all about?

I thought he would bother me with all his cockiness and silly gestures but he doesn't much. Fair play to him to go up against the best in your class in a win I say. I like the competitive attitude "you're wearing my green jersey and I want it back". Go for it my man.

What bothered me last year was that he won 4 stages and then said thank very much folk's I'm off. It's good there's a few more sprint stages after mountains this year. Maybe he'll stick it out this time.

blorg

He is a bit cocky though, I'd like to see a return to the days of more humble, reserved sprinters.

Raam

Hungrycol wrote: »

What's Cav's telephone gesture all about?

It was for his sponsor, HTC

petethedrummer

Hungrycol wrote: »

thank very much folk's I'm off.

He was preparing for the Olympics.

Hungrycol

petethedrummer wrote: »

He was preparing for the Olympics.

Yeah I know but it was months away and other riders who finished it were too. It's just bothered me that's all.

Hungrycol

Think he'd beat Robbie McEwan?

Hungrycol

His placing today:

Win Number 4 today!!!!!

Lumen

what do you mean, "internet forum people"?

blorg

Hungrycol wrote: »

What's Cav's telephone gesture all about?

His sponsor HTC is a telephone company.

What bothered me last year was that he won 4 stages and then said thank very much folk's I'm off. It's good there's a few more sprint stages after mountains this year. Maybe he'll stick it out this time.

Cippolini won 12 stages in the Tour de France and never finished it! Cavendish had the Olympics last year and in fairness to him has made a commitment to finish the Tour this year. It's tough getting over those mountains as a sprinter you know!

ednwireland

cav does it again thor in 5th so cav's back in green man blew em away again on a stage suited better for thor allegedly no celebrations today apart from joy by the look of it

can't see cav going to team sky, he would be mad to go to a team whose stated aim (by brailsford) is winning the tour from a team built around him to winning sprint stages tbh

Chips Lovell

blorg wrote: »

He is a bit cocky though, I'd like to see a return to the days of more humble, reserved sprinters.

snip

Who also pioneered the "Where the f**k are the rest of you slow coaches" victory salute:

ROK ON

@ Tonto - looks like he has 'swallowed' his saddle.

Hungrycol

blorg wrote: »

His sponsor HTC is a telephone company.

Cippolini won 12 stages in the Tour de France and never finished it! Cavendish had the Olympics last year and in fairness to him has made a commitment to finish the Tour this year. It's tough getting over those mountains as a sprinter you know!

Clean out your mouth! Thou shalt worship thy Super Mario and never have a bad word said onto him

(thanks for the HTC explanation, didn't know who they were)

ROK ON

THe fascination that some folk have with Mario is a little disturbing.
Hwever, I do like that eating pastries while riding - that is a maneuver that I may well practice. I can see benefits.

eggie

Cav just hasn't learned how to bull**** and be diplomatically humble when interviewed, he's still got that defensive throw the toys out of the pram attitude. It will change over time I would say.

If he would only say something along the lines of " Its great to win another stage, its not easy going up against the likes of Thor and Tyler everyday, they're great riders, I'm very happy to have won."

Instead of "My team are the best, always taking control, I gonna be winning in Paris.....cocky smile, etc".

blorg

Hungrycol wrote: »

(thanks for the HTC explanation, didn't know who they were)

...and now you do, which I guess is Cav's point with the whole thing

Hungrycol

blorg wrote: »

...and now you do, which I guess is Cav's point with the whole thing

I thought it was more to do with "Look at me Mammy (pointing to himself). Gis a call would love to chat (phone hand gesture)"