Eddy Merckx Backing Mark Cavendish There is a reason Why & How it's possible for some of us to break records!...

[Anthony.R.Brown]

There is a reason Why & How it's possible for some of us to break records!...

"But that fails to allow for the fact that riders such as Cavendish, such as Merckx, are wired differently from normal human beings. They are driven in a way most of us cannot comprehend. It is what separates the greatest from the merely great. Cavendish may have 34 stage wins, he may already have achieved one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history. But he wants more. Desperately."


Eddy Merckx backing 'deserving' Mark Cavendish for stage win record..


https://www.yahoo.com/sports/eddy-merckx-backing-deserving-mark-164623442.html

 

[Anthony.R.Brown]

Bookmakers are giving 11/10 that Cavendish goes on to break Eddie Merckx's record of 34 Tour stage wins and 4/6 that he fails to ?

https://www.sportive.com/cycling/494574/olympic-cycling-road-race-mark-cavendish-betting-odds

 

[Anthony.R.Brown]

Wout van Aert completely boxed Mark Cavendish in against the barriers from being able to win the final sprint!

Wout van Aert jokes he'll try to stop Mark Cavendish winning again at Tour de France 'especially for Eddy Merckx'

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/...-at-tour-de-france-especially-for-eddy-merckx

 

[Twilkes]

van Aert also won the stage, so fair play to him, if he'd just been boxing in and not bothered about winning that would be different.

 

[Anthony.R.Brown]

van Aert also won the stage, so fair play to him, if he'd just been boxing in and not bothered about winning that would be different.

Good point! but as I pointed out above he said he wanted to stop Cavendish...and knowing Cavendish was behind him at that point would have made him try harder!

 

[Twilkes]

Not that I know about or care that much about this kind of thing anymore, but at 230ish metres to go, Cavendish could have put on a spurt and pulled to the left of the guy in front (who I assume is van Aert):

But just a second or so later he'd lost his chance - I don't know when sprinters traditionally step on the gas but van Aert made his move before Cavendish did:

 

[Anthony.R.Brown]

Not that I know about or care that much about this kind of thing anymore, but at 230ish metres to go, Cavendish could have put on a spurt and pulled to the left of the guy in front (who I assume is van Aert):

But just a second or so later he'd lost his chance - I don't know when sprinters traditionally step on the gas but van Aert made his move before Cavendish did:

Can you show the moment when Wout van Aert is in front and blocking Cavendish by the barriers so that he can't pass him ?

 

[Twilkes]

This was from a twitter post, I've not seen an overhead shot of the whole thing. Sprinting is everyone for themselves, if Cavendish got boxed in it's probably because his positioning wasn't great, if he'd made a different decision earlier on it might have changed the outcome. Another twitter post suggested it was a different rider that was getting in his way, there's probably a more detailed thread in the pro forum.

Don't put too much stock in what I have to say, the last TdF I watched seriously was in 1989!

 

[Anthony.R.Brown]

This was from a twitter post, I've not seen an overhead shot of the whole thing. Sprinting is everyone for themselves, if Cavendish got boxed in it's probably because his positioning wasn't great, if he'd made a different decision earlier on it might have changed the outcome. Another twitter post suggested it was a different rider that was getting in his way, there's probably a more detailed thread in the pro forum.

Don't put too much stock in what I have to say, the last TdF I watched seriously was in 1989!

I am sure Wout van Aert studied how Cavendish is able to win in sprints and worked out that if he let him get on his back wheel line as he always does,and then communicates with his team director by radio as to when to start riding like a Snake! yes that is what he was doing weaving in and out of the straight line, from side to side so that Cavendish could not find a straight place to pass him,really devious and not sporting like.

 

[Anthony.R.Brown]

How Mark Cavendish got BOXED IN on Champs-Élysées | Tour de France Stage 21 2021


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCEygANCIWQ

 

[Twilkes]

I am sure Wout van Aert studied how Cavendish is able to win in sprints and worked out that if he let him get on his back wheel line as he always does,and then communicates with his team director by radio as to when to start riding like a Snake! yes that is what he was doing weaving in and out of the straight line, from side to side so that Cavendish could not find a straight place to pass him,really devious and not sporting like.

The only full overhead shot I can find is on GCN, 3h26m13s on this link if you have it https://racepass.globalcyclingnetwork.com/races/60ba06281eba64001877fae4 but once van Aert kicked he was riding pretty much straight, there was no weaving. Cavendish was in a poor position early on and didn't make a decision quick enough to get out of it, he could have gone up the left early or up the right once the leadout man pulled away, instead he let the 2nd place guy go around the leadout man and get back into that right position. You might think he was robbed and it was unsportsmanlike but I'm not seeing anyone involved with the racing/commentating with that view.

 

[yello]

230m is a long sprint for Cavendish. Even if he went when the space was there, I doubt he could have maintained it and beaten WvA. Cavendish is an explosive sprinter and wins his sprints, as a rule, by turning it on with around 100 to 150m to go (yes, there are exceptions)

WvA got ahead (his lead out was excellent) got the better line, and Cavendish had nowhere to go. It happens. Win some, loose some.

BTW, and apologies for being picky, he wasn't boxed in by WvA. Or indeed anyone. He got boxed in... but that's racing.

It was hectic round that last bend. I reckon Cavendish saw WvA and decided to not look for his own lead out man and took WvA's wheel instead. I personally think it was a good call, it just didn't work out.

 

[Twilkes]

Yeah this quote came from Cavendish himself: “I shouldn’t have left Morkov’s wheel, I saw Van Aert coming up at speed so I followed him. And that was it, I knew I was in a pretty dark situation, boxed in.”

 

[MasterDabber]

I am sure Wout van Aert studied how Cavendish is able to win in sprints and worked out that if he let him get on his back wheel line as he always does,and then communicates with his team director by radio as to when to start riding like a Snake! yes that is what he was doing weaving in and out of the straight line, from side to side so that Cavendish could not find a straight place to pass him,really devious and not sporting like.

I totally disagree. Nothing wrong about WvA's ride and line at all. A normal sprint and Cav just got boxed in starting really from along way out. The barrier side is always fraught with danger and left the possibility to get baulked. Btw, I would have loved Cav to win but I don't blame any of his opponents riding for his failure to do so. They are there to win not give Cav a nice clear line to the finish.

 

[yello]

Aint hindsight a wonderful thing!

Cavendish is being hard on himself. I reckon you can only call it as you see it at the time. Besides, there's no way of knowing if he'd have won had he got to Morkov's wheel. WVA had an excellent lead out, and he's strong, you can see why his was the wheel to take. Could Cavendish have taken him if he had the space to go around at 150m? We'll never know!