true, but if I was 20 and the fastest guy in the pro peloton I'd probably be worse.

Then a full half of the stage race would be dull, fall-off-your-seat-asleep boring. You might as well shorten the stage race to five very hard mountain stages and a TT and be done with it.

Bike racing is a rich sport because different riders are skilled and talented at different things. Some are climbers, some are TT'ers, some are sprinters. If there was nothing in it for the sprinters, then you'd see all the sprinters (and their teams) skip the race entirely. Besides, there is something in it for the sprinters who can make it to the finish: the points jersey. But because there are few "sprinters" stages in this year's Giro, the points jersey is going to a climber, so there really is no motivation for a sprinter to stay in the game. I can tell you from personal experience how de-motivating it is to be in a race that you have absolutely no chance of winning and getting dropped repeatedly and consistently.

And if you don't think that winning bunch sprints consistently isn't a pretty impressive trick, for both the sprinter and the team, then you have obviously never tried it.

Yes it is a very impressive trick and I understand why he dropped out. I'd just like to see him in the whole tour and I guess it seems like sandbagging to just show up to sprint and then drop. At the Tour de France he will do the same thing again, right? Will he bother to finish it? I get the why and I sit in awe watching these guys doing these tours. I am not worthy, I am not worth... Ok...

I just think it would be a better PR move, would make me respect him more as an overall cyclist, if he stayed.

My opinion and I know he doesn't give a crap about what I think. Nor should any of you. :)

I would respect the quarterback more, and it would be a better PR move, if he played linebacker once in a while. Seems like a prima donna to have to touch the ball every play. :rolleyes:

His Team Director pulled him from the Giro so he could rest up for the TDF.. Years back you would rarely see someone his age finish grand tours, it was felt that it was too hard on your body and would shorten your career.. Lance DNF'd his first few TDF's for the same reason because of his age..

he was assumed to be going to pull out after about 2 weeks since he won stage 1.

this is not a surprise.

Watch more learn more.

What many of us rank amateurs (I speak of myself herein) would like to see Cavendish do, complete the entire Giro, and what his coaches and managers deem best for his season and career-long development and goal achievement may be two very different things. The OP indicated that Cavendish should stick around to support his teammates. I'm not sure he could do them much good when things get really steep in the remaining mountain stages. I'd love to see him stick it out but I don't pretend to understand the complexities of sprinter training and racing in grand tours and do not falt him or his handlers for their decision to pull the plug.

I'm sure they will explain this in great detail on the TV coverage, as they always explain everything complicated and controversial in detail. I'll be watching and waiting to "lean more". :)

What you call "sandbagging" is what wins races.

if by wuss you mean full of **** but ****ing fast then yes.

It's a TEAM sport. Is a baseball pitcher a wuss, not worthy of respect because he gets pulled after 6 or 7 perfect innings and they bring in the reliever? NO! Since it's a TEAM, everyone on that team has a role to play, and why risk everything to keep a player in the game, that won't help the team advance?

If so, he's a very fast wus.

Apparently you don't know what that term means. There is no sandbagging at that level.

And the answer to your question is: no. It's normal for sprinters not to finish grand tours. Cipollini used to quit them regularly.

Man, then Cipollini must be an abomination to cycling in by your terms.

Some guys are just sprinters. No sense keeping him around to miss a time cut and leave the race anyways.

You don't pay the guy for being at the back of the pack in the mountains. You pay him for being one of the two or three fastest people on the planet over 200m.

cav isn't even close.

I presume you mean the track, because the guy is pretty dominant in road sprints.

But you can't even spell wuss.

Yes.


As others have said, watch more, learn more.

Yeah if you want to talk about the fastest people over 200m you're not going to find them on the road. Cav's talent isn't being fast over 200m it's being fast enough to hold on for 200km including some hills, a very fast final 5k and insanely fast final 1k and still have the legs to be fastest over the 200m at the end of all that.

he did what his team management wanted, now he gets ready for the tdf, that is why he dropped out, not his choice.

No matter what everyone drinking haterade wants to say, Cav is a freaking stud!

Just connecting the dots a little - his manager is Rolf Aldag, who was Erik Zabel's training partner/teammate/roomie and often lead-out guy on the T-mobile team for years. Which I know not because I'm a pro-team geek, but watched the very good movie "Hell on Wheels", which follows them through one TdF.

Point being, Aldag has an abundance of experience with the art and science of "the sprinter", and probably knows exactly what he needs to do to keep Cav in top form and useful for the team. I always respected Zabel for how hard he worked to stick through the grand tours, but that may not have done his sprint any good.

Duly noted. But that's a bit of picking the fly crap out of the pepper.
Point is, guy is one of the three or four best road sprinters on the planet.

Someone should volunteer to buy Cavendish's new 350 page book & then make a ruling.

http://road.cc/content/news/3843-mar...dish-boy-racer