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Froome Did It!


Razors Edge

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2 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

I guess he’s never finished the race before? :whistle:

He just talks about good sensations in his legs, which he has before every race since he came back.  I think he placed 11th in a stage in some race or other this year, which is a good step up for him.  Like I said, I hope he is in the mix, but I doubt he has it in him anymore.

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9 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

He just talks about good sensations in his legs, which he has before every race since he came back.  I think he placed 11th in a stage in some race or other this year, which is a good step up for him.  Like I said, I hope he is in the mix, but I doubt he has it in him anymore.

He is 37 but Geraint Thomas is 36.  I consider Thomas a second tier but highly competitive GC guy for this TdF.  Froome - on Ineos - might have been a similar level pick if he had shown more fitness the past month or so, but sadly, while I think Thomas is riding into top shape just in time, Froome is still either lacking the base fitness and/or not fully recovered (or capable of recovering) to his pre-crash ability.  Even just prior to the horrendous crash, he was a no longer a definitive team leader on a team stacked and reloading every year, so the jump to Israel team was unlikely to be one where he would win the TdF. 

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1 hour ago, Square Wheels said:

Did Cav make it?  I want him to win one more.

Nope, he didn't make it, although he is fit and won a couple of races not too long ago.  Broken-face guy has been penciled in since winter to be the sprinter in the tour.

Cav knows how to race, and it would have been the story of the tour (better than Fabio J winning a stage or two) if he broke EM's record for stage wins.  Not sure what is wrong (or right) with Patrick L for the glaring omission, but I am thinking like an American, I suppose.

MC did say he'd be ready if something came up, and I hope something comes up.

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10 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Nope, he didn't make it, although he is fit and won a couple of races not too long ago.  Broken-face guy has been penciled in since winter to be the sprinter in the tour.

Cav knows how to race, and it would have been the story of the tour (better than Fabio J winning a stage or two) if he broke EM's record for stage wins.  Not sure what is wrong (or right) with Patrick L for the glaring omission, but I am thinking like an American, I suppose.

MC did say he'd be ready if something came up, and I hope something comes up.

Like a pump to the spokes??? 

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1 hour ago, Randomguy said:

Nope, he didn't make it, although he is fit and won a couple of races not too long ago.  Broken-face guy has been penciled in since winter to be the sprinter in the tour.

Cav knows how to race, and it would have been the story of the tour (better than Fabio J winning a stage or two) if he broke EM's record for stage wins.  Not sure what is wrong (or right) with Patrick L for the glaring omission, but I am thinking like an American, I suppose.

MC did say he'd be ready if something came up, and I hope something comes up.

Wow, sad to hear this.

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13 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

Wow, sad to hear this.

Like RG wrote, Cav is ready if COVID strikes before the start.

But RG is also correct that the team likely would benefit WAY MORE from Cav winning a stage than winning three or four with their other sprinter.  It is an odd PR mistake.

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Interestingly enough, QS has NOT announced their final roster, and really these three are the only ones some sites are willing to forecast (even Julian is missing with his recovery not guaranteed), so these guys are the ones who push Cav out, it doesn't completely rule out a last minute add where Cav could be there just in case Fabio falters? Or to get the PR?  You'd think the team would have told him, but management in sports is often holding back info for various reasons - from the public but also the riders.

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl (Belgium)

  • Michael Mørkøv (DEN)
  • Fabio Jakobsen (NED)
  • Kasper Asgreen (DEN)

 

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1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

Like RG wrote, Cav is ready if COVID strikes before the start.

But RG is also correct that the team likely would benefit WAY MORE from Cav winning a stage than winning three or four with their other sprinter.  It is an odd PR mistake.

More than a PR mistake, and a huge one at that, it's a chance to make history.  It will take a very long time for it to happen again, and Cav's not likely to do it next year.

The green jersey will probably belong to Peter as long as I'm alive.  They put in so many rules to prevent him from winning, and he did anyhow.  No one will catch him.

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35 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

The green jersey will probably belong to Peter as long as I'm alive.  They put in so many rules to prevent him from winning, and he did anyhow.  No one will catch him.

No current sprinter is within a mile of matching his 7 Green jerseys.  Wout is as good or better as a general rider than Sagan, but could he sustain it for a decade or so? I doubt it.  Sagan was/is a true rarity.

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1 hour ago, Square Wheels said:

it's a chance to make history.

In a weird way, Cavendish may benefit to a greater degree over time (publicity-wise) if he stays tied forever with Eddy Merckx for stage wins, you'd get a reflected-glory bump if you are mentioned in the same breath with him.  Maybe if Cav gets another and owns the record outright, some people might go on a "but he is just a sprinter" tirade, denigrating MC because he wasn't/isn't the all-arounder that EM was.  People are weird oftentimes.

I personally agree that the team screws up if they don't invite MC and try like hell to get him a stage win or two.  In terms of sponsorship, it would be huge to have the historical record-winning photos (crossing the line, podium, etc) with their team jersey in frame.  That is sure to put eyeballs on your sponsor product/service for a much longer time period, which will be whenever the record is mentioned in perpetuity.  Leaving Cavendish out is definitely a curious move in my eyes.

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43 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Leaving Cavendish out is definitely a curious move in my eyes.

As Wiggo states:

Former Tour de France winner and now television pundit Bradley Wiggins believes that not a single rider on Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl deserves a spot at this year’s race ahead of Mark Cavendish.

The defending green jersey, and joint record holder of the most Tour stage wins, is set to miss out on a spot in Patrick Lefevere’s eight-man team when the squad is announced next week. Fabio Jakobsen is predicted to take the sprinter place on the team after Cavendish raced the Giro d’Italia in May.

“My assumption is that Mark’s probably not going,” Wiggins said in a press conference on Thursday.

“Patrick knows what he’s doing but from a personal point of view it would be a real shame if Cavendish is not there.”

Cavendish’s career looked over in 2020 but Lefevere resurrected his career and gave him a shot at the start of 2021. Cavendish repaid that faith in kind with four stage wins and the green jersey to tie with Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins.

“We’ve not got the argument that he shouldn’t go based on what he did last year and any other team would be crazy not to bring him to the Tour,” Wiggins added.

“He’s just won a stage in the Giro and I do find it hard, aside from the personal relationship that I have with him, if I look at it from a performance point of view, as to why you wouldn’t take him as part of a sponsor point of view, the impact that he has on the rest of the team, and the fact that he won four stages and the green jersey last year. Why wouldn’t you take the defending green jersey back to the team? I can’t see anyone in that team who would merit going ahead of him. It’s a strange thing.”

 

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