Originally Posted by
Rotten Bastard
Cav simply has a jump that no one else can match, which gives him a huge opening gap. The aero position allows him to maintain his top speed without having to sustain giant wattage, which is something a short-sprinter like him can't do. Simply put, he was born to sprint on a bicycle.
But of course, on the track he's an endurance rider. Physiologically he seems to have pretty much the ideal compromise for stage races. Just enough slow-twitch to get over hills within the time limit (mostly) with enough fast-twitch for that big jump at the end.