Mark Cavendish leaves Tour de France

[kosmonooit]

The context is the Olympics Track coming up - there is no point for him to waste himself on the mountains ahead of the Olympics, which is just weeks away. I think its justifiable. Think of all the other tours he has done, hauling himself over the mountains is not something he is unfamiliar with. He is a tough, driven and resolute pro.

 

As for Lil Louie, well he made the decision to go, it was out of the teams hand and apparently it came as a big surprise / shock. Robbie the Jobbie was the wheeling-dealing bloody agent.

Edited July 20, 2016 by kosmonooit

[tombeej]

So up front I don't get all the intricacies of the TDF.

 

It does however seem somewhat wrong for a sprinter to burn himself out on the sprinter type stages win a few than withdraw

 

Seems a bit like going flat out to get the strava KOM segment than getting a lift home with KOM bragging rights !   

 

To start off (and to help you understand a bit better), you need to understand that the Tour de France is a tour of individual races linked together under one larger umbrella event.

 

In other words, each individual stage is recognised as a separate race in its own right, with its own victor who can then claim a 'World Tour race victory', its own UCI world tour points, etc.

 

Getting upset about Cav leaving the TDF 'early' is like getting upset with a mtber for not entering all events in the MTN national mtb series. Or getting upset with Federer for not competing in every single event on the world tennis tour, etc.

 

So imagine you hear someone say that Nino Schurter should have his World Cup XCO series wins taken away from him because he didn't enter the final 5 races in the series calendar, and therefore also lose his UCI points in the process, thereby dropping is world ranking (like some fool said earlier in this thread about Cav).

 

Would that not sound completely laughable to you?

 

This is exactly the same thing.

[tombeej]

So instead of all this whining and weird self-righteous anger at Cav, how about we recognise his achievements in this years TDF (exceptional), what he's singlehandedly done for the Qubeka charity (massive) and the exposure he's given DD (hugely valuable) and his support of cycling in Africa (so appreciated).

 

And how about we recognise that he's got an Olympic Games to prepare for in just a few weeks FFS, that he originally signed up with DDD with this explicit understanding, and that everyone involved in the sport (including us, the supporters) always knew he was never going to get to Paris for this reason.

[Gen]

So instead of all this whining and weird self-righteous anger at Cav, how about we recognise his achievements in this years TDF (exceptional), what he's singlehandedly done for the Qubeka charity (massive) and the exposure he's given DD (hugely valuable) and his support of cycling in Africa (so appreciated).

 

And how about we recognise that he's got an Olympic Games to prepare for in just a few weeks FFS, that he originally signed up with DDD with this explicit understanding, and that everyone involved in the sport (including us, the supporters) always knew he was never going to get to Paris for this reason.

[emoji122] [emoji122]

[Milosh]

Ok so certainly not knocking him or whining , I particularly like Cavendish .and get the Olympic pressure

 

4 wins this time and 30 in total put him in a special league , will miss him on the final day .

 

Was really not aware of the tour of individual races , will need to shut up and read up :-)

 

 

 

 

 

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[Gen]

It's not just Cav that has left the TDF because of Rio goals. Rohan Denis didn't start today and now Cancellara won't start tomorrow.. they have their eyes on RIO ITT..

 

I am surprised Dumoulin is still riding.

 

Olympic Gold is a big deal for these guys and deserve to have the best possible preparation for it.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Gen

[Vetseun]

Love the Cav.

 

Now as South Africans we must shift our main focus to Meintjies

I dont need to. My focus has always been on Meintjies.

[SwissVan]

Louis is also going to olympics is he not?

[tombeej]

Louis is also going to olympics is he not?

 

The guys doing the road race will benefit from being in the TDF as long as possible, esp. the light climbers. It's a long, hard, very hilly course. The 'racing legs' they'll carry through from the TDF should only help them.

 

But the track is a completely different discipline. Cav has to get back to his track-specific preparation. Super hard endurance work will only take him backwards - definitely not what he wants to be doing in the lead-up to the Olympics. He needs to be fine-tuning with the relevant speed work needed for the Omnium events.

 

The TT guys... well it's 50/50 whether to stay or drop out, I guess. Cancellara is an old toppie and these big efforts in very high temperatures just take that much longer to recover from than a youngster like Dumoulin. The ITT is exactly 3 weeks away. I understand that he feels he needs to leave now for a bit of recovery and then to get back into TT-specific training. 

[SwissVan]

The guys doing the road race will benefit from being in the TDF as long as possible, esp. the light climbers. It's a long, hard, very hilly course. The 'racing legs' they'll carry through from the TDF should only help them.

 

But the track is a completely different discipline. Cav has to get back to his track-specific preparation. Super hard endurance work will only take him backwards - definitely not what he wants to be doing in the lead-up to the Olympics. He needs to be fine-tuning with the relevant speed work needed for the Omnium events.

 

The TT guys... well it's 50/50 whether to stay or drop out, I guess. Cancellara is an old toppie and these big efforts in very high temperatures just take that much longer to recover from than a youngster like Dumoulin. The ITT is exactly 3 weeks away. I understand that he feels he needs to leave now for a bit of recovery and then to get back into TT-specific training. 

 

I'm not sure recovery from TDF intime for the RIO RR will be possibl for a top ten contendor, even a youngster like Louis. We shall see how he performs then. He has his priorities set right...on TDF fame.

 

Cavendish is also getting on and needs his afternoon recovery snooze....impossible on TDF

[T-Bob]

I am surprised Dumoulin is still riding.

 

 

Reckon he wants to take tomorrow's stage and really freak all the other contenders out.

[Delgado]

Shows you how much you know about cycling

Not quite! To abandon the tour in history was through injury and not because you needed to be elsewhere.

[Gen]

People seem to think the TDF is the only goal riders have..it is not.

[SwissVan]

People seem to think the TDF is the only goal riders have..it is not.

No it's not, but it's one of the contract magnets i.e. Brings in the monthly pay cheques to feed the kidsdognwifeandpensionfund

 

Hats off I say to the riders who finish what they start.

[Gen]

No it's not, but it's one of the contract magnets i.e. Brings in the monthly pay cheques to feed the kidsdognwifeandpensionfund

 

Hats off I say to the riders who finish what they start.

I am very sure that DD and Cav had a clear understanding about his RIO ambitions when he signed for them.

 

Also he would've been a big reason together with financial security why they got their world tour licences.. kinda one hand washes the other

[GLuvsMtb]

Imagine every rider that is not a contender for any of the jerseys, or is not supporting a GC contender decides to pull out... I get that its an Olympic year and all that jazz, but team and event sponsors will surely take notice of this?

Those saying that the individual stages are separate races, why is it then not allowed to skip a stage or 3 and then get back on the start line.