Manx Missile

[Skipper]

I was more than a little disappointed last night to watch the Manx Missile out-sprinted to the line Le Tour. Has the British golden boy lost his crown to giant German upstart? Perfectly placed and set up by his team with 200m to go, Cav just didn't have it! Kittel even made up 10m on him in the same time. I even feared at one point that he might veer to the left and head-butt Kittel out of the way, but that would have just played into the camera's hands and stitched him up for the whole Tour. No, the boy was beaten fair and square. I think that from here on we only have Mr Froom to cheer for, unless Cav finds his legs again ..............

 

[Cyclopathic]

I wouldn't right him off completely. If I was a betting man I'd put a couple of quid on him winning another stage before the end.

 

[dan_bo]

He's been off form without a doubt. He'll be back.

 

[martint235]

It's a sprint. Win some, lose some. Kittel did really well and Cav didn't bother coming up with excuses. I still expect Cav to get 4 or so stage wins.

Interesting to hear that OPQ have bought Renshaw back from Belkin for next season though.

 

[Globalti]

The magic just isn't there this year, is it?

 

[Hip Priest]

I was disappointed because I thought Cav had it in the bag. But Kittel seems a genuinely likeable young man so I was pleased for him. And let's not forget he suffered his own disappointment on last year's tour when he got ill early on.

 

[Booyaa]

The magic just isn't there this year, is it?

Yup, not winning any stages at the biggest bike race in the world is rubbish.... The magic times are over.

 

[Lee_M]

Yup, not winning any stages at the biggest bike race in the world is rubbish.... The magic times are over.

I assume that's sarcasm.

People do have short memories, one stage won, and hasnt he won a few other things this season - like the points at the giro, and the tour of Oman

I wish I was that crap!

 

[Booyaa]

I assume that's sarcasm.

People do have short memories, one stage won, and hasnt he won a few other things this season - like the points at the giro, and the tour of Oman

I wish I was that crap!

One should never assume... You are however correct.

 

[ayceejay]

Mark Cavendish is fiendishly fast in a sprint and has been very successful at it winning a lot but the expectations are ahead of that, if he doesn't win everything he has "lost his crown".
Consider the disappointments in this years tour from the clownish bus incident to being obstructed by another rider to having urine thrown at him and surprisingly "the magic is just not there" I think the man is being professional in the way he handles all this compared with the way most of us would .

 

[Hacienda71]

Didn't he have a virus and was on antibiotics at the start of the tour? Might explain why he is not quite up to his own exacting standards.

 

[dragon72]

He left Team Sky last year because he felt they didn't concentrate on him enough to deliver him the wins.
Yet even if he wins today and the Champs Elysées, he won't beat last year's tally of TdF stage wins.
Yesterday Cav got the perfect leadout. It was ideal. Yet Kittel out-Cav'd him.
Goes to show it's not all about the team around you. A lot of the time wins are about luck and the sprinter himself/herself.

 

[e-rider]

not many sprinters stay at the top for long - cav has done very well already and been at the top longer than most manage, but we can't expect him to keep on winning forever!

 

[Booyaa]

"@irishpeloton: Cavendish now has won multiple stages of six Tours de France in a row. Only other rider to have done this is Nicolas Frantz."

Take a second to reflect on that.

Utterly astonishing.

...

 

[RAYMOND]

Roles reversed today, the manx missile wins, the german no where.Its all about the teamwork, and how you feel/ride on the day.