# Cav to Sky



## charliepuyear (Oct 7, 2011)

We all knew it was coming, Cav signed with Team Sky for the 2012 Season! @MarkCavendish: It's....... Team Sky! 

I don't see what took him so long to announce this. Everyone and their mother knew he was going to Sky 2 months ago. 

Team Sky | Pro Cycling | Flash Latest | Cavendish joining Team Sky

Discuss


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## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

sooo, did Sky get out of Pinarello sponsorship?


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## charliepuyear (Oct 7, 2011)

foofighter said:


> sooo, did Sky get out of Pinarello sponsorship?


I'm not sure. I haven't seen any stories about anything yet.. I'm sure more will come to light later in the day.


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## DonDenver (May 30, 2007)

Charlie...

You've been out-scooped by *cda 455* posting this news on 8-14. Near 5500 posts. Now that guy's a reporter with sources...you my friend are just passing old news. Confirm the Spesh bike contract and get back to save your reporting cred


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## foofighter (Dec 19, 2008)

eisel joins cav on sky now


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## DonDenver (May 30, 2007)

DonDenver said:


> Charlie...
> Confirm the Spesh bike contract and get back to save your reporting cred


Charlie...ya gotta stay on top of your reporting 

...Cav _will_ ride Pin's for SKY


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## charliepuyear (Oct 7, 2011)

foofighter said:


> eisel joins cav on sky now


Team Sky | Pro Cycling | Flash Latest | Team Sky sign Eisel


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## roubaix_sj (Nov 9, 2010)

how is Team Sky going to support both Cav for the flats and Wiggins for the GC ?


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Sky will support Cav for wins. Wiggins will be on his own with maybe two riders per Tour for help. Bottom line is they know cav can get them stage wins. Wiggins hasn't shown that. Too bad for Wiggins.


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## baker921 (Jul 20, 2007)

roubaix_sj said:


> how is Team Sky going to support both Cav for the flats and Wiggins for the GC ?


Cav will let Wiggo take the lead uphill.


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## roubaix_sj (Nov 9, 2010)

is there any team where Wiggo can go to ?


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

DonDenver said:


> Charlie...ya gotta stay on top of your reporting
> 
> ...Cav _will_ ride Pin's for SKY


Cav will ride what the team rides, but I'm not sure if next year's bikes have been selected. Sky is in a position to have bike companies fight over them. 

I'm still wondering how Sky will function as a unit next year. With 2 good GC riders, a sprinter like Cav, and stage hunters like Bos Hog, it could be challenging to keep everyone happy/adequately supported. I don't think Wiggo is quite strong enough to be a GC threat without a strong team around him.


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## Kevy Metal (Sep 30, 2008)

Whoa, this news came out of left field! Cavendish is joining Team Sky?


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

spookyload said:


> Sky will support Cav for wins. Wiggins will be on his own with maybe two riders per Tour for help. Bottom line is they know cav can get them stage wins. Wiggins hasn't shown that. Too bad for Wiggins.


I agree, but didn't the Sky management say (5,000 times) that their top goal was winning the Tour de France within five years (two years ago)? Not that it doesn't make sense to reconsider as new options develop, but (1) it's not like they weren't planning on going after Cav when the team was formed and (2) won't this drive any legitimate British GC contenders to foreign teams?


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

Undecided said:


> I agree, but didn't the Sky management say (5,000 times) that their top goal was winning the Tour de France within five years (two years ago)?


Good points. Perhaps winning the TdF has been redefined to mean the green jersey?


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Team Sky | Pro Cycling | Video | Cavendish reveals Sky move


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## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

Undecided said:


> I agree, but didn't the Sky management say (5,000 times) that their top goal was winning the Tour de France within five years (two years ago)? Not that it doesn't make sense to reconsider as new options develop, but (1) it's not like they weren't planning on going after Cav when the team was formed and (2) won't this drive any legitimate British GC contenders to foreign teams?


There's more than just Wiggo, although I'm not sure how much more of a contender Froome would be at the TdF.


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## orange_julius (Jan 24, 2003)

Undecided said:


> I agree, but didn't the Sky management say (5,000 times) that their top goal was winning the Tour de France within five years (two years ago)? Not that it doesn't make sense to reconsider as new options develop, but (1) it's not like they weren't planning on going after Cav when the team was formed and (2) won't this drive any legitimate British GC contenders to foreign teams?


You actually believe in press statements? 

More seriously, 2012 London Olympics road race = flat and expected to be a field sprint. What could be more Pax Brittanica than Cavendish in Sky regalia earning Team GB their gold?


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

orange_julius said:


> You actually believe in press statements?
> 
> More seriously, 2012 London Olympics road race = flat and expected to be a field sprint. What could be more Pax Brittanica than Cavendish in Sky regalia earning Team GB their gold?


That sort of reflects the confusion that runs between Sky management and British Cycling . . . .


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

I see trouble ahead. Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. In my opinion this is a bad career move for Cav.


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## AdamM (Jul 9, 2008)

> I see trouble ahead. Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. In my opinion this is a bad career move for Cav.


+1

Sky now has a line up that makes no sense at all, imo.


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## rgg01 (Jun 21, 2011)

I don't think it will be an issue in 2012, Cav will go for a couple of early stage wins then drop out as the Olympic road race is on the first day of competition, Wiggins will stay in as long as he is in Gc contention. I think Sky stated they wanted a Brit on the podium in that time.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

rgg01 said:


> I don't think it will be an issue in 2012, Cav will go for a couple of early stage wins then drop out as the Olympic road race is on the first day of competition, Wiggins will stay in as long as he is in Gc contention. I think Sky stated they wanted a Brit on the podium in that time.


Cav planning to drop out of TdF deliberately? Are you kidding? Stage win in Paris is by now his signature move, and after Green jersey this year, he will stay in unless injured. Last stage is July 22, Olympics is July 28, this may be perfect way to peak for it.


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## rgg01 (Jun 21, 2011)

If you think about Sky's aim it makes perfect sense, slogging over the Pyrenee's and/or The Alps is definitely not perfect peaking for London. It is his home Olympics, it's SKY's home Olympics, the director of SKY is also team GB head. I think, and the British cycling press that I've read as well agree, that he will race for a few days, target some morale boosting stages then drop out. He has dropped out before in 2007+2008, the latter being to concentrate on the Olympics. 
It would also free up SKY's other riders to support Wiggins in one huge GC push after Cav goes. We'll see, but if anyone cares to wager a decent bottle of Bordeaux on it I'll bet he doesn't finish on the Champs Elysee in 2012.


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

rgg01 said:


> If you think about Sky's aim it makes perfect sense, slogging over the Pyrenee's and/or The Alps is definitely not perfect peaking for London. It is his home Olympics, it's SKY's home Olympics, the director of SKY is also team GB head. I think, and the British cycling press that I've read as well agree, that he will race for a few days, target some morale boosting stages then drop out. He has dropped out before in 2007+2008, the latter being to concentrate on the Olympics.
> It would also free up SKY's other riders to support Wiggins in one huge GC push after Cav goes. We'll see, but if anyone cares to wager a decent bottle of Bordeaux on it I'll bet he doesn't finish on the Champs Elysee in 2012.


If the Tour is as leaked, it is actually a pretty easy Tour for him. Two mountain top finishes and two ITT's. It will be an interesting green jersey this year. All of the sprinters will be interested in the Gold medal in London, so either they bail on the Tour or finish it and risk being tired for the Olympics. If they all bail, somone will have to stay behind to collect the green jersey. I think he will stay in the Tour till it is clear he can't win the green jersy at some point, then bail. You don't get legendary sprinter status for winning the Olympics. You get it for winning the green jersey. Who can name the last five Gold medal winners of the Olympics?


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

Sanchez, Bettini, Ullrich, Richard, Casartelli


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

In the interview I posted, Cav said he plans on finishing the tour and going to the Olympics.


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## mtrider05 (Aug 8, 2009)

Cav said one of the biggest mistakes of his life was dropping out before the 2008 Olympics, he won't be dropping out. I also read the Pinarello has a 3 year deal so there will be no Specialized switch next year.


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## stleon2 (Aug 4, 2009)

A Spesh switch could still possibly happen. It's not very likely, but there are two options. Right now, Sky has contracts with Pinarello/Adidas/Deda, while Cav has personal sponsorships with Specialized/Nike/PRO Components. One of these two parties is going to have to break their contracts. Question is, which one is more valuable. I know that Specialized threw a lot of money at Cav to keep him on the Venge...so one of two things could happen.

1) Cav breaks his contracts, has to pay back some sponsorship $$$ plus penalties - Sky will end up compensating Cav to do this - and we'll see a Pinarello crossing the line first - most likely scenario.

2) Sky breaks their contract with Pinarello, has to give all equipement back and most likely pay some penalties. Spesh would probably be more than capable of footing the bill to do this - if they want Cav that bad. Cav would void his sponsorships w/ Nike/PRO - these are not as lucrative as the bike deal.

You're dealing with one of the most powerful forces in bike manufacturing - Specialized. They do have the money to be throwing around to keep someone like Cavendish on their roster. Sinyard would probably love the chance to paint some SL4's and Venges black and blue...and add Sky to their R&D team (let's face it - Saxo<sans Contador>, Astana and Omega Pharma-Quickstep, are not going to be able to contribute to product developement like HTC has). I can see them dropping Astana if Sky were even willing to sneeze at a deal w/ Big S.

You're also dealing with this year's most sought-after cyclist - Mark Cavendish. This is an athlete that Specialized would bend over backwards to keep on their bike. If they have enough money to sweeten the deal for Sky, we could possibly see a Team Sky S-Works Venge being reviewed on BikeRadar.

Again, all speculation, and not very likely... but it could happen....


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

stleon2 said:


> <sans contador="">Again, all speculation, and not very likely... but it could happen....


Naa, this is how it went down:

Mike: Hey, Mark, how's it going? Nice job at the Worlds.
Mark: Great, thanks.
Mike: So you're still under contract with the big S, and we need just one more thing.
Mark: Yeah?
Mike: We want you to say that you love your Venge and want to bring it with you to your new team. We're going to put it out there that the whole bike was designed just for you.
Mark: Really?
Mike: Yup. We've got the same thing going on with Tony and the time-trial bikes. 
Mark: What's in it for me?
Mike: </sans>You can mention talking to other teams, like that Quick Step one, and bid up your deal with Sky.
Mark: Is that it?
Mike: How about some money? Lots of money.
Mark: OK, sounds good.
Mike: Cool, best of luck at Sky, don't go winning too many races though!
Mark: Yeah, right.
<sans contador=""> </sans>


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## stleon2 (Aug 4, 2009)

/\ LOL!!!! Yeah, perhaps.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

The adidas/Sky contract is for clothing, not shoes. HTC didn't wear Nike either. 
I don't think adidas even make road shoes anymore.
The Deda thing could be a problem.


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## rgg01 (Jun 21, 2011)

Sky have a lot more money than specialized, a lot more. I would think though the contract would have a force majeur (sic) clause in there, ie that there would be no way Cav could predict that HTC would fold and therefor unless Spec are willing to pay him not to ride another bike then it's not his fault ergo he will have to ride what his new team ride. I'm sure Pina will be more than happy to match his deal. I'm not 100% sure of the legals of course but I don't think that in a case like this that Spec could enforce the contract and stop him riding something else, that would be restraint of trade and therefore very naughty, particularly within Europe.


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## jhamlin38 (Oct 29, 2005)

i think sky will rethink their priority and dump the majority of their resources in Cav wins. Cav wins are higher profile than top 10's in the tour, which is what wiggo is worth now...
Sky didn't plan on HTC-Highroad falling apart, hence the change in plans.
I think Sky will be full of controversy in 2012, and think that the weight of the rainbow jersey will render a lackluster year.
that said, I always pull for the rainbow jersey to "show" well.


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## J24 (Oct 8, 2003)

The big question is when Sky's sponsorship comes up for renewal next year will the Murdocks be content funding a green jersey instead of a yellow jersey.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

J24 said:


> The big question is when Sky's sponsorship comes up for renewal next year will the Murdocks be content funding a green jersey instead of a yellow jersey.


He might be in jail by then, or removed from Sky's management, due to the scandal at his newspaper. 

Too bad because he is a great cycling advocate, both at pro and grassroots levels.


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## rgg01 (Jun 21, 2011)

I was going to say the real question is will the Murdoch's be in charge at News International? I don't think they'll pull or reduce their sponsorship of cycling though, they have had so many PR gaffes recently that pulling the plug on such a high profile, British (mainly) team would just be a disaster.


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