With no Bennati at the Tour, Cavendish had his way with McEwen (far left) and othersMark Cavendish had a breakthrough year in 2007, winning 22 races and showing the cycling world that he was one of the brightest young talents on the sprinting scene. For 2008, the pressure on the 23 year old ratcheted up, as Bob Stapleton's Columbia team counted on the Brit for top performances from February through July's Tour de France.
Starting early in the year at the Tour of Claifornia, Cavendish picked up where he left off in 2007, taking a win (he was later disqualified for causing a crash) at the Tour of California, and then another pair of victories at the Three Days of De Panne stage race. He also came first at the Grote Scheldeprijs, a spring semi-classic in Belgium. After a successful early season, Cav concentrated on the year's first grand tour, the Giro d'Italia. He managed two stage wins at the Italian grand tour, and rode all the way to Milan, completing the three week long race.
As July approached, Cavendish rebuilt his form and destroyed all comers at the Tour de France, taking four stages before dropping out of the race after stage 15 to prepare for the Olympic games, where would be paired with Bradley Wiggins in the madison event. Things fell apart in Beijing for Cavendish, as an exhausted Wiggins didn't have enough in the tank to help lead the tandem to victory. It was one of the few disappointments for the Manxman, who showed without a doubt that he was the best sprinter for 2008.
Honorable mention for best sprinter should go to Daniele Bennati of the Italian Liquigas team. "Benna" took three stage wins and the overall points title at his home tour, out dueling Cavendish on the way. A calf injury left him out of the Tour de France, but he managed to salvage the final half of his season with a stage win at the Vuelta. Bennati will be on a short list of candidates next year for sprinter of the year, as he'll no doubt try to win the green jersey at the Tour de france for his Liquigas team.
Starting early in the year at the Tour of Claifornia, Cavendish picked up where he left off in 2007, taking a win (he was later disqualified for causing a crash) at the Tour of California, and then another pair of victories at the Three Days of De Panne stage race. He also came first at the Grote Scheldeprijs, a spring semi-classic in Belgium. After a successful early season, Cav concentrated on the year's first grand tour, the Giro d'Italia. He managed two stage wins at the Italian grand tour, and rode all the way to Milan, completing the three week long race.
As July approached, Cavendish rebuilt his form and destroyed all comers at the Tour de France, taking four stages before dropping out of the race after stage 15 to prepare for the Olympic games, where would be paired with Bradley Wiggins in the madison event. Things fell apart in Beijing for Cavendish, as an exhausted Wiggins didn't have enough in the tank to help lead the tandem to victory. It was one of the few disappointments for the Manxman, who showed without a doubt that he was the best sprinter for 2008.
Honorable mention for best sprinter should go to Daniele Bennati of the Italian Liquigas team. "Benna" took three stage wins and the overall points title at his home tour, out dueling Cavendish on the way. A calf injury left him out of the Tour de France, but he managed to salvage the final half of his season with a stage win at the Vuelta. Bennati will be on a short list of candidates next year for sprinter of the year, as he'll no doubt try to win the green jersey at the Tour de france for his Liquigas team.
Posts
2 comments:
Great post! He deserves it. Though Cav's disqualification following his victory on Stage 6 into Santa Clarita at last year's Tour of CA was not because of the crash 8k from the finish. After the crash, the group was in a full gallop charging away. It took at least a full minute to get up, assess the damage, and decide whether or not to continue. The group was gone. Cavendish changed bikes and then hung onto the team car as it pulled him back into the group - then took out the field sprint! And wondered afterwards why everyone (especially Cipo, whom he took out) was ticked. Oh, to be young, fast, and cheeky...
Yep, he's fast. He can pop up out of nowhere just like McEwan, but Columbia has changed from the ToC, too. They have taken control of the front and demonstrated how to execute a perfectly timed lead out for a fast man. They are looking more and more like QuickStep than T-Mobile.
Post a Comment