Love him or hate him, you’re going to see Mark Cavendish in the rainbow jersey during 2012, and I can’t say that he and the Brits didn’t earn it.
The Limeys brought the pain in Denmark, stomping everything flat like Godzilla tap-dancing on Tokyo, and when it came down to the final sprint, well, that was all she wrote. Once again everyone in the peloton gets a backside view of the little weirdo with his arms in the air.
And he’s already talking about London 2012. Blimey. Glad I don’t have to race against him. It’s much easier to deliver my Snark-O-Grams® long-distance.
Mad Blog Media 
Count me in the hater category, much to the consternation of the golfers over on “vee enne punto com” as they would say in Italia. BUT the GB team worked to perfection, making me drag out my Mario Cipollini DVD to remember the last time a team dominated the World’s so well. Some are already calling the Manx Missile the greatest of all time but he’s got a ways to go to equal Super Mario’s 189 career wins and a LONG way to go to equal the big man in charisma or class. His regular fighting with his rivals, whining and allegations of holding onto the cars during this year’s TdF make him a poor representative of our sport in my opinion.
I’m ambivalent with respect to Cav. That said, GB rode as a real team. Cav had better be putting Wiggo, Millar, et.al. on his Christmas list. It will be interesting to see how Sky plays the Grand Tours.
Larry, I’m with you about Super Mario. I’m still missing him. You look up style in the dictionary and there he is. I believe he even had his contract written so that the team was footing the bill for the various fines he racked up.
By my count Cav has 81 career victories in just 5 seasons as a professional, including 20 Tour de France stage wins, and a total of 30 grand tour stages.
He has won the TDF green jersey, and the final stage of the Tour for the past 3 years straight. Cipo never even finished the Tour.
And, whil Cav is brash, he always credits his entire team with his wins, and shoulders the losses himself instead of casting blame, which to me shows far more class than Cipo ever did.
As OG wrote, “love him (you) hate him (me)”. Some like Shimano, some like Campagnolo. Brash isn’t my issue with Cavendish, it’s the flipping the bird, the fighting with his rivals and the holding onto cars on the climbs. He’s a hell of a sprinter at present but I’ll wager right now he’ll never equal Super Mario’s 189 career wins, or have an entire nation swooning over him. We’ll have to check in again in 5 years when, if he keeps his present rate, he’ll be nearing 160 career victories and closing in on Cipollini.
I guess nobody has a comment. I say at least his body can cash the checks his ego writes. Congrats to the Brits for a great worlds.
Patrick , you had a busy weekend! Great write-up of the the race. No Cav fan here. Tremendous crowd and I could feel the excitement through the computer screen even though the camera work was boring. Spoiled by the camerawork last year.
Anyway, hope everyone can see a Worlds in person. I went to Hamilton and would like to see one in Europe. It was a great experience and I look forward to Richmond. I think……are you shuddering, Patrick?
I think my problem with Cav is that he’s not enough of a dick. He doesn’t have Mario’s style, and he can’t throw a headbutt nearly as well as Robbie. Even his tantrums are boring to listen to, and he comes from the same island as the damn BeeGees.
That said, showing up to a road race in a TT kit definitely qualifies as “putting on the foil”.
Art- Dave Zabriske and a few others have worn the aero suit in the past on fast road stages. I’m not sure if it’s a physical advantage or just a psychological deal. I think it just looks weird.
Maybe the foil reference was too esoteric:
But Art what if you show up for a stage/race in your Chiefs sweater? Would that count….because I know a few guys who would (and could) do that. Just what road racing needs: unmitigated violence! I know I would tune in, I mean, care a lot more than I currently do.
Art, I think you’ve got it!