The English start to the 2014 Tour de France surpassed even the wildest dreams of the people of Yorkshire and London who made it happen, with the crowds by the roadside estimated at some 2.5 million per day.
Race Director Christian Prudhomme was fulsome in his praise of the start up in the north of the country.
“When you said you would deliver the grandest Grand Départ of the Tour it was the truth. You have raised the bar for all future hosts of the Tour de France,” said Prudhomme.
“I work for the Tour, but I also love the Tour, and I have seen that the people of Yorkshire love the Tour too. I can see the Tour in their hearts, and in their eyes. For that, I say thank you.
“Bernard Hinault said to me that it is the first time in 40 years on a bike that he has seen crowds like we saw this weekend.”
There was an estimated 60,000 people lining the climb of Holme Moss alone, an astonishing number to anyone who, like myself, has ridden up that lonely, bleak and windswept moor on their own. More astonishing still was the appearance put in by the sun. Perhaps he got a fee for turning up too.
It was all very English in an un-English sort of way, what with it being the Tour de France and all, and yet the English – or British, if you like – have had something of a stranglehold on the race in the past two years. With the current champion and the winner before him, as well as the greatest sprinter the Tour has ever seen all standing under the Union Jack, you’d think the Brits would be over the moon at the moment.
However, one of the three lions didn’t even get a place on the start line and another got himself so giddy at the thought of wearing Yellow on his native soil that he went and rode like a fool and crashed himself out of the whole thing.
That Wiggo isn’t racing has received enough attention, but it’s worth taking a moment to consider just how irresponsible and reckless was the ride Cavendish put in on Stage One.
There’s something to be said about being a great athlete and a man that commands respect, and there’s even more to say about a great athlete that’s rash and irresponsible.
Compare, if you will, Pele and Maradonna, or Ali and Tyson.
Maradonna was arguably the better footballer, but if you were to choose from the two a role model for youngsters it would be the Brazilian who would win out every time.
Tyson may have been the most ferocious and intimidating heavyweight of all time and was a brilliant technical boxer too, but Ali’s legend is built on far more than what he achieved in the ring. He is a great man. Tyson is a thug.
Might we be wasting our time to compare Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish? Yes, but let’s do it anyway.
Cavendish is established and the greatest sprinter of all time. In his first season, 2007, he equaled Alessandro Petacchi’s record of 11 professional wins in a debut season.
In 2009 he became the first Briton since Tommy Simpson to win a Monument, Milan-San Remo. In 2010 he became the first Brit since Robert Millar to win a stage in every Grand Tour, and in 2011 became the first Briton since Simpson to win the World Championships.
In 2012 he became the first man to win on the Champs-Elysees four times in a row, and in the same year he became the most successful sprinter in Tour history with 23 stage wins, giving him more mass start wins than any other rider in the Tour de France, ever.
Some say he’s pretty good. I begrudgingly concur.
Cavendish’s record blows Kittel’s out of the water – it blows everybody’s palmares out of the water, in fact – but Kittel is coming along very nicely indeed. He won yesterday, has now won in every Grand Tour, and he has that air of invincibility about him that is reminiscent of another sprinter at times – namely, Cavendish.
But which would you rather have a beer with? One is affable, approachable and genuinely popular in the bunch, the other is none of those things. Whilst it is true that Cavendish’s nature is an essential component of his success it is also true that he has been openly disrespectful to other riders (ask Thor Hushovd about that), and that he causes crashes.
Never was this more true than on Stage One. Cavendish’s actions caused the crash, and though he apologised to Gerrans by telephone later, it’s an indication of how dangerous his sprinting was that the OGE team were angered that the UCI had declined to punish the Manx rider for reckless riding.
The reasons for Cavendish’s crash were twofold.
First off, he was desperate to win because he wanted Yellow on home soil. As a result he was eager as a lamb at its mother’s teet for the last 300 all day. Secondly, he does not respect his peers enough. Had it been Gerrans or another rider that had been forced to abandon the ride rather than the culprit himself, the organisers would have been justified in throwing him out of the Tour altogether.
Indeed, had that happened, the injured party might even consider whether he had a legal case against Cavendish.
Milan-San Remo winner Alexander Kristoff of Katusha even went so far as to compare Cavendish to Luis Suarez, the Uruguyan thrown out of the World Cup for biting an opponent.
“Suarez was banned for biting people in soccer and to me it looked like he crashed on purpose,” Kristoff said.
“At 60 kilometres an hour it’s really dangerous and you can injure people, so it’s not nice of him. In an uphill sprint you loose a bit of control sometimes. It’s not the first time he’s done this. I hope he calms down a little bit in the future. He’s a brilliant sprinter but it looks like he lost his head a little bit.”
Lost his head and lost his chance to prove that he still has the beating of an improved Kittel. Lost too even more respect from his peers, as well as wasted all the hard work his team would have put in in training to get ready for this race.
Kristoff will not be alone in his criticism of Cavendish and there won’t be much sympathy for him in the peloton either.
Finally, it wasn’t just himself he let down out there, not Simon Gerrans or anyone else behind him, but the British public who came out to cheer him on.
Hawkeye
Guest
Renshaw headbuted JD, which happens and wasn't a big deal. He then looked over his shoulder and deviated several YARDS off his line to take Farrar out of the race. It was outrageous cycling and deserved to be banned. Was basically smash em up derby racing. The next day Garmin would have been justified to deliberately ride Cav off the road if they didn't flick Renshaw for that ridiculous riding.
Justin Curran
Roar Rookie
Game. Set. Match. Renowden.
Yogi
Guest
great defence glynjamin I will reconsider my views on Cav.
Da Spoon
Guest
If as suggested by Sean Kelly, an OGE rider caused the crash that took out Froome today how should he be disqualified? I suspect you Aussies will have a completely different opinion on that. I genuinely believe that your problem with cav and the ridiculous comments we see about Sky on here is because they are British.
Lee Rodgers
Expert
Thanks for the comment. I didn't exactly compare him to Tyson nor to Maradonna, but the point I was making was that a to be a champion you need to be great at your sport, but to be a great champion you need more than technical skill. There's the measure of the man or woman to be considered also. Crashing folk again and again (and he uses his head often) cannot be negated by a few nice comments now and then. I've seen Cavendish sprawled out on the floor after a crash he caused and riders like Hushovd shaking their heads as they ride past him. Then there's the video of him telling a reporter to 'f*ck off' because he asked a question about doping. Not to mention the fawning over Lance, the fact that he still considers his 'wins' to be valid, and the repeated demands for fans and media to forget the past. From his autobiography: "Like everyone else, I was well aware of the doping rumours that had swirled around Lance, but never dwelled on them: firstly because I hadn’t been competing against him between 1999 and 2005; and, secondly, I had gathered from riders who had competed in that era that doping had been widespread if not endemic." Great sprinter? Yes. Great champion and 'fine role model'? No. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/mark-cavendish/10428756/Mark-Cavendish-Lance-Armstrong-was-mesmeric-he-had-me-under-his-spell.html
Colin N
Guest
Great post. Well said.
Tim Renowden
Expert
Lee Rodgers is British.
glynjamin
Guest
If you were looking to goad a Cavendish supporter into a response, you have succeeded. I don’t disagree with the majority of what you have to say. His ride on stage one was all of the things you describe. He should have received an official DSQ from the race organisers. But to compare his character with those of Suarez and Tyson is fatuous. Firstly sprinting:- His long career has been typified by sprinting in straight lines. Yes, there has been the odd example (exhibit one). It’s hard to imagine a career of sprinting at the limit where there hasn’t been one. But, he knows and has frequently opined on the dangers of sprinters weaving across the road. Recall for example Roberto Ferrari at the Giro in 2012 (exhibit two). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPL9EIjudBE Ferrari veered dramatically into Cav’s path bringing him down. No acceptance of guilt by Ferrari, no contrition. There’s no question the emergence of Kittel has totally shattered Cav’s hitherto rhino-like confidence and indeed his judgment on the bike. He caused a crash last year in the TDF and has repeated the feat this year. Last year he was reluctant to accept responsibility. This year, he was honest and apologetic immediately afterwards. He’ll get some time now to dwell on events. No bad thing. Secondly character:- What is the point in fake modesty when you are the best? He was untouchable for such a long time. He knew it, the other sprinters knew it, we all knew it. A spade is a spade and that’s how Cavendish has always talked. He is articulate, thoughtful and brutally honest in interviews. He is always an interesting interviewee, sometimes a compelling one. Importantly, he has always respected the history of cycling and while not humbled by his place in the pantheon, is certainly respectful. For the most part, he has been a fine role model, delicately walking the high wire of naked ambition and respect for cycling’s past and present. He has been a great ambassador for cycling in the UK. Fulsome to the point of slavish in his praise of the work of teammates throughout his career, his twitter account is just one example of his courteous nature when other sprinters win. Take his interview after stage 12 of the TDF last year: “You can sit there and analyse it, but when there is someone simply faster than you there is nothing you can do. I don't think me, or the team, could have done anything differently. He was just simply better today. I tweeted the other day I think he's the next big thing. I spoke with him today actually. I think he's the next superstar in sprinting and he showed it today.” Cavendish was unbelievably stupid and his actions, prompted by desperation, were dangerous. But he deserves better from you Mr Rodgers.
Tim Renowden
Expert
Nope. Renshaw didn't cause a crash, and he didn't come close to causing a crash. He started headbutting Julian Dean when the Kiwi drifted into his line, but he kept his bodyweight over his bike. Watch it again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXrLIJ3H_FA I'm not saying Renshaw shouldn't have been booted off. I am saying that Cav - who was also headbutting Gerrans, dropped his shoulder and made hard physical contact *while trying to shove him off his line* - should have been, too. Cav *actually* caused a crash. Renshaw actually *didn't* cause a crash. You said it yourself, it was dangerous and stupid. He should have been punished by the commissars.
glynjamin
Guest
Wrong, Renshaw was booted out for headbutting. Different and worse kind of intent: dangerous and deliberate foul play. Cavendish was dangerous and stupid. Not deliberately trying to injure his opponent.
Yogi
Guest
Rich it doesn't matter if he is sorry or not. If you don't sanction riders for recklessness, you will get more riders doing the same thing. If you don't stamp on it expect it to become more common. Cav has been doing it for years. The video above tells the story thanks Bobo. If they don't ban him he will keep doing it. And young riders will copy him. Very very hard to imagine Gerrans behaving like that but if he did he would also deserve sanction.
Rob Gremio
Roar Pro
The problem is, Rich, that it's not the first time he's done this type of thing. And for mine the beef isn't that he took out an Aussie. It's a pattern of behaviour, and regretting something after the fact is not the same thing. There was no gap, and he was leaning about a metre across his bike to try to push Gerro out of the way so that he could make the gap for himself. It was a very poor display of riding, one that should have seen him sanctioned. Had it been Gerrans doing that, or Robbie McEwan in the past, I would have supported sanctions.
Rich_uk
Guest
hmmmm interesting comments I wonder what the opinion on here would have been if Gerrans had taken out Cav. I'm sure there would have been plenty on here who would have defended the 'courageous Aussie's' actions Cav apologised, was genuinely sorry and all will move on from this Cav sometimes takes risks, you don't get to be the best sprinter in the world by not taking chances!!
Bobo
Guest
Anyone who has followed Cavendish knows he has no consideration for others. Exhibit 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNsnpmvO7YU Tour de Suisse crash in 2010. Haussler was never the same rider again.
rouleur
Guest
Def a dumb move my cav. wonder what his reaction would've been if the roles were reversed? for the sake of a laugh, see if you can get the audio of Patrick Lefevre's (Head DS of OPQS - cav's team) description of the crash. according to him cav did nothing wrong and it was gerrans that "was slowing down too quickly and getting in the way". funny stuff!
Tim Renowden
Expert
It was a real dick move from Cavendish, and he really should have been sanctioned. It would've been more symbolic than anything, given he can't ride anyway, but would any other rider have got away with that? Renshaw was booted for a lot less in 2010.
Yogi
Guest
So can anyone explain why UCI did not act? Cav's stupidity has robbed Gerrans of the chance for a stage win and could have done worse. If you don't punish that sort of selfish recklessness than you are rewarding it and can expect it to become more common.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
To say it appeared he crashed on purpose is over the top and will cause distractions for Kristoff as I see now it is Cavendish that is considering legal action (though what this is meant to achieve apart from further sullying Cavendish's own reputation is beyond me). At the end of the day Cavendish is guilty of being an enthusiastic idiot and Gerrans has accepted his apology. The question is, will he learn?