# Cav hit the ground hard yesterday!



## dougydee (Feb 15, 2005)

Video footage of him showed he looked very sore.


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## ::dyslexic:: (Jul 13, 2009)

Im still not sure he actually knows how to ride a bike.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Maybe he has ticked off enough riders in the peloton that they have started to deal with it through "Other means".

Al also agree with *::dyslexic::*He can sure go fast, but I'm not sure he knows how to ride a bike all that well.


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## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

"Bloody Hell! Me brand new Jehhhhsey."


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## bikerjulio (Jan 19, 2010)

How's the bike?


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## roadie92 (Jan 21, 2008)

Looks like he's Lacking some luck down under.


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## HIMEHEEM (Sep 25, 2009)

He's lucky to be alive the way he wears his helmet


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## dougydee (Feb 15, 2005)

I'll have to have a look back through the video but I remember Phil Liggett saying in the commentary that a bike had broken in half during one of the crashes.


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## sdeeer (Aug 12, 2008)

I read somewhere that he got t-Boned in the corner (velonews maybe) 

This link shows that his bike did not break but atleast one was at about 2:24-26 you can see it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuYLF094mdA


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## Vee (Jun 17, 2010)

Anyone notice that the front part of his Specialized helmet is missing in that pic? Good thing he had that thing on...


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## rcharrette (Mar 27, 2007)

*Your rightI*

I just watched it on Versus and saw the crash then looked at the pic above. On TV it just looks like his helmet was barely attached to his head but from the pic it looks like the helmet actually broke 
As far as the bike, his survived but the guy who T-Boned him snapped his in half!


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

::dyslexic:: said:


> Im still not sure he actually knows how to ride a bike.


what a stupid comment.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

Just saw it, bad bad wreck. The kind where many guys don't hurry to get underway again. Was nice to see guys from different teams waiting and helping each other out. There's something you don't see much in field sports.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Vee said:


> Anyone notice that the front part of his Specialized helmet is missing in that pic? Good thing he had that thing on...


No it's not


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

Idiot can't ride a straight line, can't keep it up in a corner and has a mouth/attitude larger than a continent. 

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

Oh, and it was a Sky rider's bike (Chris Sutton?) who snapped in half I think.


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## MSDos5 (Jun 3, 2010)

Nah He crashed


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## MSDos5 (Jun 3, 2010)

*Tour down under*

For a versus half hour primed with advertising its been kind of cool, quite a few new riders.

As I said in My bmx days(sort of) Cavendish ate pavement pretty hard. :mad2:


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## MSDos5 (Jun 3, 2010)

Paul Sherwen was sure trying to _*stir the pot*_ in the pre-race interview.


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## uno-speedo (Oct 26, 2004)

robdamanii said:


> Idiot can't ride a straight line, can't keep it up in a corner and has a mouth/attitude larger than a continent.


What an idiotic comment.


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## wiz525 (Dec 31, 2007)

everybody posting against Cav's riding ability _knows_ this crash was caused by him? if true, too bad for him. if not, interesting. and ridiculous.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

wiz525 said:


> everybody posting against Cav's riding ability _knows_ this crash was caused by him? if true, too bad for him. if not, interesting. and ridiculous.


The commentators said during the coverage that Cav was the one that lost control and went down first in the corner causing others to crash. I really think he has issues holding a line watching him race.

Watching the coverage...none of the sprinters hold a freaking line. The sprint finish looked worse than a CAT 5 sprint finish...just faster


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## gamara (May 20, 2002)

Oh can you feel the hate?? Yes some of the comments here are indeed retarded. I'm not a big fan of Cav after last years tour de suisse debacle but maybe the guy's done some growing up since the Tour last year. Even though the press has tried to stir the pot nonstop with the rivalry between him & Greipel, Cav has pretty much remained tight lipped & even subdued by his standards. Only time can tell.


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## Sojourneyman (Jun 22, 2007)

roadie92 said:


> Looks like he's Lacking some luck down under.


let's not talk about my love life.


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## pagey (Oct 30, 2009)

> Im still not sure he actually knows how to ride a bike.


It does seem that it is becoming a common occurance


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Wow... People talk a lot of shyt about these guys.. Kinda funny since I'm sure all of you would have been shelled in the first few kilometers. Go win a few sprints in a pro race then come back and talk.


Pretty nasty wrecks though for an early season race. Impressive they're fighting so hard this early. Either that or they're all rusty from the winter. Hopefully Cav can get back on the horse and shut some people up.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

ZoSoSwiM said:


> Wow... People talk a lot of shyt about these guys.. Kinda funny since I'm sure all of you would have been shelled in the first few kilometers. Go win a few sprints in a pro race then come back and talk.
> 
> 
> Pretty nasty wrecks though for an early season race. Impressive they're fighting so hard this early. Either that or they're all rusty from the winter. Hopefully Cav can get back on the horse and shut some people up.


Don't be stupid. We're not saying we're better than protour riders, or we'd be there right now.

We're saying that this loudmouth jackass can't hold a line and being next to him in the peloton increases your chances of crashing about 10 fold. 

Actually, it's not too different from riding in Euskaltel colors...


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

ZoSoSwiM said:


> Wow... People talk a lot of shyt about these guys.. Kinda funny since I'm sure all of you would have been shelled in the first few kilometers. Go win a few sprints in a pro race then come back and talk.
> 
> 
> Pretty nasty wrecks though for an early season race. Impressive they're fighting so hard this early. Either that or they're all rusty from the winter. Hopefully Cav can get back on the horse and shut some people up.


Crashes happen. It is part of cycling. To assign blame for each crash, and to attribute it to "not knowing how to ride a bike" is ridiculous, and shows lack of experience watching professional cycling. 

Everyone, I repeat, every single pro rider, has crashed at some point and will crash in the future and it will have nothing to do with their bike handling skills. Sprinters are especially prone to crashing, for obvious reasons.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

55x11 said:


> Crashes happen. It is part of cycling. To assign blame for each crash, and to attribute it to "not knowing how to ride a bike" is ridiculous, and shows lack of experience watching professional cycling.
> 
> Everyone, I repeat, every single pro rider, has crashed at some point and will crash in the future and it will have nothing to do with their bike handling skills. Sprinters are especially prone to crashing, for obvious reasons.


This may be true, but that doesn't mean that every rider has "*Caused*" a crash during their racing career.

Face it...some racers a great bike handlers and others are not. That doesn't diminish the speeds these guys can ride a bike at, it just means that some of them are much more dangerous at those speeds than others.

Watch the end of that race during the sprint...those guys are all over the place, no real leadouts, just a bunch of guys jumping lines trying to win a race. As I stated earlier...it looked like a very fast CAT 5 finish.

Watching some of these races I'm not sure I'd want to be on an easy group ride with them, let alone a race


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)




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## Cableguy (Jun 6, 2010)

ZoSoSwiM said:


> Wow... People talk a lot of shyt about these guys.. Kinda funny since I'm sure all of you would have been shelled in the first few kilometers. Go win a few sprints in a pro race then come back and talk.


I'm not sure how much I agree with Cav having bad bike handling skills, but this argument you're using is so lame I can't help but point it out. You don't need to be a professional of *what* you're critcizing to have credibility or be right.

Next time you see a movie that you dislike, you must keep your opinion to yourself. You're not a professional film maker afterall. Don't talk **** about this director guy, go win a few awards first then come back and talk.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

That's how domino effect works. Too bad, 

The Manx Missile should be thankful he's still alive. 

Cav, after the crash.
Ouch!


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## gh1 (Jun 7, 2008)

Its ok, they opened the roads and made him fight traffic to get to the finish today. Now he is pissed.


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## Andrew1 (May 27, 2009)

The internet sure does bring out the best in people.


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

All these cheap shots from the cycling nobodies in the Peanut Gallery are the price he pays for being the World's best sprinter - Numero Uno - The Main Man.
I'm sure he cries himself to sleep at night.

However, we are all entitled to our opinions, no matter how stupid or ill informed they are. The bigger problem is that all these internet idiots get to vote!


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## nayr497 (Nov 8, 2008)

Wow, just watched the vid link from page 1. That was a crazy sprint finish. Guys coming from all over, Thomas sitting up in the middle and causing more confusing. Wild.

Can't tell from that vid who caused the first crash. I know some pros are much better handlers than others, but considering Cav's track background I think he must be pretty solid. Sure, he has been involved in a few crashes in the past few years, but he has also been involved in a ton of sprint finishes. He's always in the mix, thus increasing his chances of going down.


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## davidsthubbins (Jun 15, 2009)

I wanna see more of Farrar's bike. (I think it was his that was snapped) I'll send you a dollar if you can find some info/pics of that mess.


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

That's what he gets for riding a Specialized...


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

Wookiebiker said:


> This may be true, but that doesn't mean that every rider has "*Caused*" a crash during their racing career.
> 
> Face it...some racers a great bike handlers and others are not. That doesn't diminish the speeds these guys can ride a bike at, it just means that some of them are much more dangerous at those speeds than others.
> 
> ...


I think you should teach those amateurs a few lessons. Clearly their CAT-5 bike handling skills can benefit from some lessons from experts such as yourself.


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## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

PlatyPius said:


> That's what he gets for riding a Specialized...



Indeed! Scott is much better for him. 

But I also like Specialized.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

davidsthubbins said:


> I wanna see more of Farrar's bike. (I think it was his that was snapped) I'll send you a dollar if you can find some info/pics of that mess.


Looked more like Sutton's Sky Pinarello.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

55x11 said:


> I think you should teach those amateurs a few lessons. Clearly their CAT-5 bike handling skills can benefit from some lessons from experts such as yourself.


It doesn't take an expert to see those guys are racing like idiots, jumping lines, total disregard for safety, etc.  

IMO...they deserve all the scrapes, road rash, etc. racing like that. Being aggressive is one thing, being stupid is another. If you can't see that because you are a pro racer homer....such is life. As has been said before, just because a rider is a pro doesn't mean they have great bike handling skills  

I'm sure you will come back with something like...they spend more time on a bike in a month than you do in a year or something witty like that...but time on a bike doesn't make you a great bike handler. I drive a car for several hours a day, every day but that doesn't mean I'm ready to race the Indy 500 :thumbsup:


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Wookiebiker said:


> This may be true, but that doesn't mean that every rider has "*Caused*" a crash during their racing career.
> 
> Face it...some racers a great bike handlers and others are not. That doesn't diminish the speeds these guys can ride a bike at, it just means that some of them are much more dangerous at those speeds than others.
> 
> ...


While Cav _looked_ to be at fault, I'm not going to stake my reputation based on the mediocre video footage, not that I expect them to be everywhere and at the proper angles. 

Perhaps Cav's reputation/ego gets him blamed, although he still has nothing on Abdoujaparov. At least, not yet.


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## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

vismitananda said:


> Indeed! Felt is much better for him.
> 
> But I also like Specialized.


tell me about those cranks in your avatar!


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

Wookiebiker said:


> It doesn't take an expert to see those guys are racing like idiots, jumping lines, total disregard for safety, etc.
> 
> IMO...they deserve all the scrapes, road rash, etc. racing like that. Being aggressive is one thing, being stupid is another. If you can't see that because you are a pro racer homer....such is life. As has been said before, just because a rider is a pro doesn't mean they have great bike handling skills
> 
> I'm sure you will come back with something like...they spend more time on a bike in a month than you do in a year or something witty like that...but time on a bike doesn't make you a great bike handler. I drive a car for several hours a day, every day but that doesn't mean I'm ready to race the Indy 500 :thumbsup:


If you want to blame Cav for not "knowing how to ride a bike", fine. I am sure if I search, I will find similar comments from you about Cancellara, Voigt, Schlecks, Hushovd, Armstrong, Leipheimer, Basso, Van de Velde, Farrar, Evans, and please just keep adding names here, as I am tired of typing, maybe I should have stopped at Voigt - who ALL crashed solo or were the first to go down, and have much more convincing video footage of their obvious "inability to ride a bike". And that's just in the past 3 years or so, and only in major races.

My take is that these guys are absolutely amazing at bike handling. But no matter how good you are, sooner or later you *will* crash. All it takes is loss of concentration for a brief moment, an overlap of the wheels, someone in front of you or to the side of you doing something sudden, like hitting the brakes, getting into your line, cutting you off, whatever. That's just the nature of peloton.

I am highly sympathetic to what pro riders have to go through, and making fun (selectively, mind you!) of some riders crashing, as if it is simply attributable to "not learning how to ride a bike", or claiming that they ride like "Cat 5" riders, is equivalent to 100-lb overweight football fan who can barely get one flight of stairs while huffing and puffing making fun of someone like Tom Brady "throwing like a girl" and claiming he could teach Brady a thing or two about how to not get sacked, cause obviously the only thing Brady needs is a few basic football lessons from Joe the armchair quarterback, so he doesn't "suck" as much.

And then our Joe armchair quarterback starts saying how one doesn't need to be a pro football player to be able to criticize pro football players, because it's apparently *EXACTLY* like going to the movies and being able to judge that the movie sucks. No, it's more like criticizing the movie director and actors for not being able to shoot the entire movie in one single continuous take, because you and your amateur AV club could have easily done it on camcorder.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Speaking of Van de Velde, I've been watching some older TdFs and was amazed how many times Vaughters and VdV crashed out of the TdF.  I am humbled by how they also decided to go back!


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## HIMEHEEM (Sep 25, 2009)

vismitananda said:


> Indeed! Scott was much better for him.
> 
> But I also like Specialized.


Fify..


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## slimjw (Jul 30, 2008)

Boy, that Cav always gets us worked up, don't he? 

Inflammatory comments aside I think it is totally fair to criticize Cavendish's handling skills even if you like the guy. If you just watch some of the finishes from last year he was responsible for at least one REALLY bad crash (Tour de Suisse) that pretty much ended both Boonen and Haussler's seasons and could regularly be seen overcooking turns and taking dangerous, crash-causing chances in the finishing circuits of many races. 

I think he has fine handling skills MOST of the time, but when his head isn't on right or he isn't on form he can be real squirrely, which becomes sort of problematic for contesting finishes. 

BTW, what is the RBR pro cycling forum if not a place for armchair quarterbacking, smack talking and retreading pro races and the riders/events therein?


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

slimjw said:


> Boy, that Cav always gets us worked up, don't he?
> 
> Inflammatory comments aside I think it is totally fair to criticize Cavendish's handling skills even if you like the guy. If you just watch some of the finishes from last year he was responsible for at least one REALLY bad crash (Tour de Suisse) that pretty much ended both Boonen and Haussler's seasons and could regularly be seen overcooking turns and taking dangerous, crash-causing chances in the finishing circuits of many races.
> 
> ...


I think last year perhaps the pressure and his nerves from the early season lackluster got the better of his handling. 

As for the armchair QB thing, is armchair DS the "official" term for it? If not, we need to coin something.


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## T K (Feb 11, 2009)

That crash looked once again like Cav not being able to hold his line in a corner, drifting outward and taking someone out. It happens. I am not a pro bike racer, nor have I ever won a pro bike race. Yet some how I was able to figure that out. Hmmm....
All pro bike racers are fast. Not all are great bike handlers.
Cav may be one of the best bike handlers, but careless or wreckless. Who knows.


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

TDU - Cavendish was last! 
Hey guys, you know what this means! Everyone here is as good as Cav! I bet that there isn't a single person writing on this thread who couldn't also get last place in Oz. My apologies for thinking that your anti-Cav opinions were worthless.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

albert owen said:


> TDU - Cavendish was last!
> Hey guys, you know what this means! Everyone here is as good as Cav! I bet that there isn't a single person writing on this thread who couldn't also get last place in Oz. My apologies for thinking that your anti-Cav opinions were worthless.


He earned that place after crashing out Sutton.

It amazes me how often you hear "Cavendish goes down in the corner" while watching the commentary. The guy is as reckless as he is mouthy.


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## The Weasel (Jul 20, 2006)

55x11 said:


> I am highly sympathetic to what pro riders have to go through, and making fun (selectively, mind you!) of some riders crashing, as if it is simply attributable to "not learning how to ride a bike", or claiming that they ride like "Cat 5" riders, is equivalent to 100-lb overweight football fan who can barely get one flight of stairs while huffing and puffing making fun of someone like Tom Brady "throwing like a girl" and claiming he could teach Brady a thing or two about how to not get sacked, cause obviously the only thing Brady needs is a few basic football lessons from Joe the armchair quarterback, so he doesn't "suck" as much.
> 
> And then our Joe armchair quarterback starts saying how one doesn't need to be a pro football player to be able to criticize pro football players, because it's apparently *EXACTLY* like going to the movies and being able to judge that the movie sucks. No, it's more like criticizing the movie director and actors for not being able to shoot the entire movie in one single continuous take, because you and your amateur AV club could have easily done it on camcorder.


WOW! I bet you never criticized your college professor, president of the company (if youwork for a company), anybody working for the government or government agency, or the guys who pave your streets.


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

The Weasel said:


> WOW! I bet you never criticized your college professor, president of the company (if youwork for a company), anybody working for the government or government agency, or the guys who pave your streets.


To criticize someone who does something very difficult supremely well is usually foolish.

To criticize people who are demonstrably incompetent is another matter entirely - college professors, CEOs, government workers are often rather poor at what they do viz: the Banks, the state of society, the roads and the educational system.

The same cannot be said to be true about winning sportsmen and women - and virtually nobody has won as much as Cav these last three years.


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## The Weasel (Jul 20, 2006)

albert owen said:


> To criticize someone who does something very difficult supremely well is usually foolish.
> 
> To criticize people who are demonstrably incompetent is another matter entirely - college professors, CEOs, government workers are often rather poor at what they do viz: the Banks, the state of society, the roads and the educational system.
> 
> The same cannot be said to be true about winning sportsmen and women - and virtually nobody has won as much as Cav these last three years.



If athletes criticize themselves for performances all the time, why can't we? Just because we are not at their level? That's a dumb argument.
So Steve Jobs and the rest of the company, who have done a phenominal job at Apple, should not be criticized for their handling of the antenna issue because of their past successes?
Second guessing is human nature.
Do you criticize Contador for his 'alleged' clenbutarol use, or do you let it slide because he did such good job hiding it up until then (that is also very difficult).


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

The Weasel said:


> If athletes criticize themselves for performances all the time, why can't we? Just because we are not at their level? That's a dumb argument.
> So Steve Jobs and the rest of the company, who have done a phenominal job at Apple, should not be criticized for their handling of the antenna issue because of their past successes?
> Second guessing is human nature.
> Do you criticize Contador for his 'alleged' clenbutarol use, or do you let it slide because he did such good job hiding it up until then (that is also very difficult).


1 - Criticize all you like. Go for it  It's a free world and you can make yourself look as foolish as you like. Do you really think that Cav would take what anyone here has to say about his abilities seriously?

2 - I have no knowledge of the Antenna Issue. Therefore, my mouth is shut. On the other hand, Apple is measured amongst the least ethical companies in their market sector, so Jobs and Co are fair game in this respect, as we all have a personal interest in companies ripping people off. (BTW Haliburton is the worst).

3 - If Contador is a drug cheat, he should be banned for life in my view.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

albert owen said:


> The same cannot be said to be true about winning sportsmen and women - and virtually nobody has won as much as Cav these last three years.


So because he won a bunch of races he gets a pass for handling his bike like he's drunk driving through a crowd?


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

robdamanii said:


> So because he won a bunch of races he gets a pass for handling his bike like he's drunk driving through a crowd?


Depends on what you mean by a pass? Are people going to move out of he and his leadout trains way when they come through? yes, is he going to keep his job? yes, is he going to get a little more space and not have to fight for his own leadouts wheel? yes. 

He is the most dominate sprinter at the moment and he has the best leadout train the peloton will repect that to a certian degree regardless of how he rides unless its extreem and he starts recklessly crashing people alot more.

I say all that not being a Cav fan.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

Hushovd:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a69DZUX1hoc

Cancelara:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p--JQIF6TSU

Voigt:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p1-gCNldUc

Farrar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc7yCNf5Bzo

Boonen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_k-2R3YpZ8

Zabriskie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLF4A3j75Zk

Franck Schleck:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1-WSpiTFR0

It is clear to anyone reading this thread that none of these "idiots" know "how to ride a bike". What a bunch of moreons.


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Let's not forget: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL-mD1Zem0Q
I can only assume many in this thread will flatly refuse to go on a ride ride with that squirrel. 



55x11 said:


> Hushovd:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a69DZUX1hoc
> 
> Cancelara:
> ...


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## Lou3000 (Aug 25, 2010)

ZoSoSwiM said:


> Wow... People talk a lot of shyt about these guys.. Kinda funny since I'm sure all of you would have been shelled in the first few kilometers. Go win a few sprints in a pro race then come back and talk.
> 
> 
> Pretty nasty wrecks though for an early season race. Impressive they're fighting so hard this early. Either that or they're all rusty from the winter. Hopefully Cav can get back on the horse and shut some people up.



Yes, because we all watch pro cycling and talk **** about the riders because we could do better.


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## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

T K said:


> Cav may be one of the best bike handlers, but careless or *wreckless*. Who knows.


He's obviously not wreckless.  



As for whether he was reckless in this case, I make no judgment since I haven't even seen the video, just the pictures afterward.


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## T K (Feb 11, 2009)

Sorry, dog ate my Webster's.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

I hope Tom Boonen ran over him after he went down. 

Hey, the guy is a sprinter after all. For the most part, they are the hockey players of the peleton.


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## robdamanii (Feb 13, 2006)

pmf said:


> I hope Tom Boonen ran over him after he went down.
> 
> Hey, the guy is a sprinter after all. For the most part, they are the hockey players of the peleton.


If it was TdS, he pretty much did run over him. 

Everyone crashes. No debate there. Cavendick just has a substantially higher number of crashes due to poor handling in pretty good conditions. Recklessness? Probably.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

The Weasel said:


> WOW! I bet you never criticized your college professor, president of the company (if youwork for a company), anybody working for the government or government agency, or the guys who pave your streets.


Not if they are absolutely the best in the world at doing what they do yet somehow still manage to make a human mistake or two on occasion (which also happens to everyone else). Please remember that in crashing there is a big element of pure luck/chance involved, and often very little that can be controlled by riders themselves. Calling someone "an idiot" just because they had misfortune to crash their bike (and all pros crash - just tell me the name and there is a footage of them crashing on youtube somewhere) is a testament to being new to the sport, at best, or perhaps being selectively biased against a specific rider.


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