Cavendish Not Riding Tour of Britain

[Flying_Monkey]

Well, it seems Team Columbia have decided to have Mark Cavendish ride the Tour of Missouri instead of the Tour of Britain. Their strategies are their own, but that is a a bit of a kick in the teeth for British fans who would have liked to have seen the world's best sprinter a bit nearer to home...

 

[yello]

Hmmmm.... one has to wonder at the thinking behind that decision. I have no idea at how popular cycling is in Missouri, or whether the locals have any idea of the TdF let alone who won which stages etc but it does, on the face of it, seem like home bias.

More importantly, I wonder what Cav thinks of it??

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Hmmmm.... one has to wonder at the thinking behind that decision. I have no idea at how popular cycling is in Missouri, or whether the locals have any idea of the TdF let alone who won which stages etc but it does, on the face of it, seem like home bias.

More importantly, I wonder what Cav thinks of it??

Apparently, they want him to support Hincapie to win it again. Columbia / High Road are after all an American team...

 

[Chris James]

I read that too, but I find it difficult to believe how much support Cav will be to Hincapie. He is hardly domestique material is he?

 

[yello]

I read that too, but I find it difficult to believe how much support Cav will be to Hincapie. He is hardly domestique material is he?

That's my gut reaction too.

Maybe the team thinking is to remind Cav he's part of a team, to repay some of the good work his team did for him.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Alternatively they know Big George might not win it and they want the insurance of an exciting young talent winning a few stages for them... but then Gerard Ciolek is equally capable of that...

 

[TVC]

The worlds best sprinter taking stages in the US will get a lot more column inches in the American press than if he was winning over here. It makes perfect sence to me, showing their best talents in their home market.

 

[Cathryn]

Massive Cav fan, but he's a bit full of himself...

“I am not just a star in Britain, I am a big name in cycling all over the world"

He makes me laugh.

 

[yenrod]

I remember him saying that on the 'tour that it'd be iether the TOB or the Missouri `tour apres le tour.

So its obvious really.

Like above home sponsor and the likes...

 

[mondobongo]

I love him because of all that bravado and swagger.

I would love to know what he said to Wiggins when he came off that track, lets be honest he was there for the medal no prisoners that Wiggins had already rode his legs off would have accounted for nothing with Cav who was champing at the bit from when he arrived in Beijing.

 

[Ludwig]

The worlds best sprinter is Usain Bolt.

 

[rich p]

The worlds best sprinter is Usain Bolt.

WTF?

Cav was asked to go because of the US sponsors. It's just business.

 

[andy_wrx]

The worlds best sprinter is Usain Bolt.

What a troll you are !

 

[Renard]

He would've just abandoned as soon as he hit the Mennock pass.

 

[Fiona N]

Sprinters don't really do humble and retiring, do they? I guess it takes a lot of self-belief to win sprints at the top level and winning reinforces that self-belief - inevitable really.