Farrar was equally fast as Cav today, he had to go the loooooong way round Hushovd though. And nice to see Milram trying to bash elbows with Columbia and even succeding at one point, they just started too far out.
BenBarnes wrote:
Thor wears a live rattlesnake as a condom.
ruben wrote:
The thing that annoys me is, if it was Petacchi, Cipollini in the old days, or even Farrar and Hushovd in these times, who won 4 stages, 2 years in a row, I would be happy to applaud them.
But Cavendish, I feel nothing but solid dislike for the guy. He's just so goddamn arrogant. Get over yourself!
he's not arrogant, he's the best in the world by a country mile and he knows it. whats he gonna do after his 8th tour stage win in 2 years? say "i just got lucky" or "on another day Hushovd would have beaten me" when he knows it's bollocks. he wins because he's the best. he knows it, the interviewer knows it, the viewers know it and his rivals know it. what do you want him to say?
i reckon he's less arrogant then many lesser sprinters around at the moment, Boonen for one, Bennatti for another.
schleck93 wrote:
Farrar was equally fast as Cav today, he had to go the loooooong way round Hushovd though. And nice to see Milram trying to bash elbows with Columbia and even succeding at one point, they just started too far out.
If Farrar was on Hushovd's spot he might have come very close.
ruben wrote:
The thing that annoys me is, if it was Petacchi, Cipollini in the old days, or even Farrar and Hushovd in these times, who won 4 stages, 2 years in a row, I would be happy to applaud them.
But Cavendish, I feel nothing but solid dislike for the guy. He's just so goddamn arrogant. Get over yourself!
he's not arrogant, he's the best in the world by a country mile and he knows it. whats he gonna do after his 8th tour stage win in 2 years? say "i just got lucky" or "on another day Hushovd would have beaten me" when he knows it's bollocks. he wins because he's the best. he knows it, the interviewer knows it, the viewers know it and his rivals know it. what do you want him to say?
i reckon he's less arrogant then many lesser sprinters around at the moment, Boonen for one, Bennatti for another.
Ruben want a true gentleman like Cipolinni or Pettachi.
BenBarnes wrote:
Thor wears a live rattlesnake as a condom.
ruben wrote:
The thing that annoys me is, if it was Petacchi, Cipollini in the old days, or even Farrar and Hushovd in these times, who won 4 stages, 2 years in a row, I would be happy to applaud them.
But Cavendish, I feel nothing but solid dislike for the guy. He's just so goddamn arrogant. Get over yourself!
he's not arrogant, he's the best in the world by a country mile and he knows it. whats he gonna do after his 8th tour stage win in 2 years? say "i just got lucky" or "on another day Hushovd would have beaten me" when he knows it's bollocks. he wins because he's the best. he knows it, the interviewer knows it, the viewers know it and his rivals know it. what do you want him to say?
i reckon he's less arrogant then many lesser sprinters around at the moment, Boonen for one, Bennatti for another.
How arrogant was Federer when he was completely dominate for about 2 years though? There's being confident and then there's being arrogant. Cav falls in the latter.
ruben wrote:
The thing that annoys me is, if it was Petacchi, Cipollini in the old days, or even Farrar and Hushovd in these times, who won 4 stages, 2 years in a row, I would be happy to applaud them.
But Cavendish, I feel nothing but solid dislike for the guy. He's just so goddamn arrogant. Get over yourself!
he's not arrogant, he's the best in the world by a country mile and he knows it. whats he gonna do after his 8th tour stage win in 2 years? say "i just got lucky" or "on another day Hushovd would have beaten me" when he knows it's bollocks. he wins because he's the best. he knows it, the interviewer knows it, the viewers know it and his rivals know it. what do you want him to say?
i reckon he's less arrogant then many lesser sprinters around at the moment, Boonen for one, Bennatti for another.
How arrogant was Federer when he was completely dominate for about 2 years though? There's being confident and then there's being arrogant. Cav falls in the latter.
Or you could say there's being confident and then there's being boring... and Federer falls in the latter.
All perception I guess. For me, Cav strikes me as a young guy who's fairly unassuming... but quick to react with unwise statements if annoyed.
I've seen a lot of interviews where he comes across quite unassuming... but in general if they get him right after the race while his adrenaline is going he'll say something that could be considered arrogant.
I personally HATE interviews with atheletes right after the game. It's the absolute WORST type of interview you can get. Seeing swimmers trying to catch their breath after an olympic race having to give an interview or a football player walking off the field after a game... that's when you get stupid statements. It's not because that's how they are... it's because they are still in "game mode".
I see that a lot with Cav. Post race interviews while he's still on his bike... sounds arrogant. Interviews an hour or two after the fact... seems pretty grounded.
Or you could say there's being confident and then there's being boring... and Federer falls in the latter.
All perception I guess. For me, Cav strikes me as a young guy who's fairly unassuming... but quick to react with unwise statements if annoyed.
I've seen a lot of interviews where he comes across quite unassuming... but in general if they get him right after the race while his adrenaline is going he'll say something that could be considered arrogant.
I personally HATE interviews with atheletes right after the game. It's the absolute WORST type of interview you can get. Seeing swimmers trying to catch their breath after an olympic race having to give an interview or a football player walking off the field after a game... that's when you get stupid statements. It's not because that's how they are... it's because they are still in "game mode".
I see that a lot with Cav. Post race interviews while he's still on his bike... sounds arrogant. Interviews an hour or two after the fact... seems pretty grounded.
I tend to base my views on what people around someone says. In this case, I remember an interview with Brian Holm where he was asked about Cavendish. Although I wouldn't expect him to say that he hates the guy if he was asked by a journalist and really didn't like him, what he said showed that he meant it.
He said that of all people, Cavendish was the one who was the most thoughtful. For no reason at all, he would call up someone from the team and ask how they were doing - more than anyone, he cares for the people around him and is deeply grateful for all his friends, Holm said.
The columbia train is seemingly unbeatable, no others can do it aswell as they can, reminds me of the Pettachi days. As soon as I saw that it was a slight rise to the finish I thought Boonen, maybe Hushovd but Hushy didn't have anything in the tank and Boonen wasn't even in the top 10!
I had to LOL at Cavendish after the stage: Interviewer: Some people said that because of the slight uphill into the finish you couldn't win today.
Cav: Who said that? Foreigners?
Typical of adrenaline flowing though his veins, the red mist clouding his thoughts.
Dezzy wrote:
The columbia train is seemingly unbeatable, no others can do it aswell as they can, reminds me of the Pettachi days. As soon as I saw that it was a slight rise to the finish I thought Boonen, maybe Hushovd but Hushy didn't have anything in the tank and Boonen wasn't even in the top 10!
I had to LOL at Cavendish after the stage: Interviewer: Some people said that because of the slight uphill into the finish you couldn't win today.
Cav: Who said that? Foreigners?
Typical of adrenaline flowing though his veins, the red mist clouding his thoughts.
are you the guy i corrected on 606?
Because he said forum users, not foreigners.
There's no point slapping a schleck - Sean Kelly on "Who needs a slap"
ruben wrote:
The thing that annoys me is, if it was Petacchi, Cipollini in the old days, or even Farrar and Hushovd in these times, who won 4 stages, 2 years in a row, I would be happy to applaud them.
But Cavendish, I feel nothing but solid dislike for the guy. He's just so goddamn arrogant. Get over yourself!
he's not arrogant, he's the best in the world by a country mile and he knows it. whats he gonna do after his 8th tour stage win in 2 years? say "i just got lucky" or "on another day Hushovd would have beaten me" when he knows it's bollocks. he wins because he's the best. he knows it, the interviewer knows it, the viewers know it and his rivals know it. what do you want him to say?
i reckon he's less arrogant then many lesser sprinters around at the moment, Boonen for one, Bennatti for another.
How arrogant was Federer when he was completely dominate for about 2 years though? There's being confident and then there's being arrogant. Cav falls in the latter.
Or you could say there's being confident and then there's being boring... and Federer falls in the latter.
All perception I guess. For me, Cav strikes me as a young guy who's fairly unassuming... but quick to react with unwise statements if annoyed.
I've seen a lot of interviews where he comes across quite unassuming... but in general if they get him right after the race while his adrenaline is going he'll say something that could be considered arrogant.
I personally HATE interviews with atheletes right after the game. It's the absolute WORST type of interview you can get. Seeing swimmers trying to catch their breath after an olympic race having to give an interview or a football player walking off the field after a game... that's when you get stupid statements. It's not because that's how they are... it's because they are still in "game mode".
I see that a lot with Cav. Post race interviews while he's still on his bike... sounds arrogant. Interviews an hour or two after the fact... seems pretty grounded.
No, I see where you're coming from, but even in the heat of competition there's ways to do it in a professional manner or not. Cav coming up with different celebrations each stage alone is a sign of a certain arrogance if you ask me. Armstrong in several interviews seems very gracious and claims he is just hoping for the best. Does anyone believe he's not arrogant?
Great sprint from Cavendish - and Farrar, Hutarovich and Freire too. The first real time in the tour that Farrar showed he is capable of winning, and it would be nice if he could manage to grab a win at some point (although hard), just so long as Cavendish still beats Hushovd
Cipollini was the last sprinter to win 4 stages (consecutive, no less. And he quit on stage 10 as they went into the mountains)
But all respect to Cavendish, Cipollini was going up against the best crop of sprinters a Tour's ever seen, by quite a margin.
While Cavendish is up against Hushovd and a bunch of injured (Freire, Bennati) or out of shape (Boonen) guys who aren't on the same level as Cipollini's rivals Svorada, Steels, Zabel, Kirsipuu, Minali, O'Grady (before he stopped training as a sprinter and lost his sprinting speed) and McEwen.
As for more than 4, I remember Merckx won 6 stages in 69. That's all I can think of, really.
Edited by issoisso on 15-07-2009 21:16
issoisso wrote:
Cipollini was the last sprinter to win 4 stages (consecutive, no less. And he quit on stage 10 as they went into the mountains)
But all respect to Cavendish, Cipollini was going up against the best crop of sprinters a Tour's ever seen, by quite a margin.
While Cavendish is up against Hushovd and a bunch of injured (Freire, Bennati) or out of shape (Boonen) guys who aren't on the same level as Cipollini's rivals Svorada, Steels, Zabel, Kirsipuu, Minali, O'Grady (before he stopped training as a sprinter and lost his sprinting speed) and McEwen.
This is true, but you can only beat what's in front of you. Cav still deserves some kudos for his sprint domination.
Edited by stuartmcstuart on 15-07-2009 21:16
issoisso wrote:
Cipollini was the last sprinter to win 4 stages (consecutive, no less. And he quit on stage 10 as they went into the mountains)
But all respect to Cavendish, Cipollini was going up against the best crop of sprinters a Tour's ever seen, by quite a margin.
While Cavendish is up against Hushovd and a bunch of injured (Freire, Bennati) or out of shape (Boonen) guys who aren't on the same level as Cipollini's rivals Svorada, Steels, Zabel, Kirsipuu, Minali, O'Grady (before he stopped training as a sprinter and lost his sprinting speed) and McEwen.
This is true, but you can only beat whats in front of you. Cav still deserves some kudos for his sprint domination.
"some"? He deserves an enormous amount. Just can't compare to Cipollini's achievement, that's all.
Also, cycling's never seen a train like Columbia's. When was the lsat time a train always left a sprinter up front? never, that's when. The best trains were those of Petacchi and Cipollini and they had about a 50% fail rate.
But that's to do with the current sprinters not having the guts of previous ones. We need a new generation quick, the current ones suck in terms of courage. That's why they lose.
No one tries to anticipate the sprint. it's stupid. I've never seen anything like it.
Edited by issoisso on 15-07-2009 21:20
still I think Cavendish have a to good year on the run..hard to repeat.
I have watched many races from past..this 2009 Columbia train is realy something..
didn't Petacchi win 4 stages in 2004 (maybe 05)? From what I remember his train was beyond rivals in that tour, and Petacchi was faster than his rivals, just like Cavendish and columbia this year.
BenBarnes wrote:
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