merziac

Cav FTW, C+V record from the greatest C+V of all time.

RB1-luvr

It's a great day.

iab

Dude. Spoiler alert.

Aardwolf

If you don't know what #35 refers to don't read the links below

It did get a certain amount of coverage in the UK papers
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/cycling

Even made the front page
https://www.theguardian.com/uk

I watched it live on ITV4, came as a bit of a surprise, he had to do a lot of weaving.

jamesdak 

Ugh.....spoiler alert next time. I've been at work and haven't watched the stage

jamesdak 

Dude mark it as a spoiler before you ruin it for more of us.

gearbasher

Now he only has to win 5 tours.

cb400bill

Added a spoiler alert to thread title.

Trakhak

The horse is probably well and truly out of the barn, but you can probably still ask to have the title changed to "TDF Fifth Stage - Spoiler Alert!"

Homebrew01

No excuse for spoiler titles. Don't do it again.

MooneyBloke

I really can't believe the ire here. You can still enjoy the show even if you know who won the stage. A friend texted me the info earlier; should I have gone ballistic on him? I don't think so. I just think there's way too much overreaction.

Trakhak

Some people, like you, don't care about spoilers. Others care deeply. The ire is fully justified. If you can't understand why it's justified, that's sad.

iab

First, is a frowny face ire? And yes, I did watch the race knowing who won the stage.

But if you look, this place is called BikeForums. In which, are bike enthusiasts. You really have to be a knucklehead to not realize a spoiler is uncool. It's common knowledge and common curtesy.

PS. I will contend to my grave "knucklehead" is not ire.

3speedslow

One of the shop posters in my bike room. Awesome JOB Cav!

Andy_K 

Honestly, even with the "spoiler alert" title, which was in place when I saw it, just seeing this thread here told me that this is probably what happened. You know, a normal result would just be discussed on the "pro racing for the fans" subforum.

But what's done is done. Can we talk about the win now? Like, am I the only one who thought it seemed a bit odd? I didn't actually know Cav was going to win as I watched, but I suspected. The thing is, it kind of seemed like Phil and Bob knew too. And the sprint was so straightforward -- no photo finish, no bumping and diving, no riders veering off their line (yes, I know there was a crash, but even that didn't seem to play into the result) -- just Cav picking his way through and sprinting away for the win. I never would have imagined that such an historic event could feel anticlimactic, but it kind of did.

Now I want to see him get the green jersey!

rando_couche

And speaking of green, there's some serious history going on there too! (And no, I'm not going to spoil it!)

MooneyBloke

To me, that just indicates a lack of proportion. That's sadder. It's just sport. It's just not that important in the grand scheme of things. That Cav won is old news that could have gotten to people via other avenues, and knowing that doesn't detract from watching the race unfold. The what of the result just isn't that interesting, but the why and the how are, and you learn that by watching the race.

Andy_K 

"In the long run, we are all dead." -John Maynard Keynes

Perspective is a tricky thing. So is reading emotion through text. I don't think anyone here has gotten angry. I read it as simple irritation. Sport is about drama and suspense. Knowing the result in advance certainly does change the viewing experience. A moment of carelessness can deprive others of a small joy.

Of course, I'm sure the discussion here has also deprived Van of the joy of shared excitement that I would guess was his intention in starting this thread. Now it's in danger of turning sour for all of us. Perhaps we can get back to appreciating the historic achievement of the day.

merziac

First of all, I am truly effen sorry, none of that was my intent so knucklhead, yes been called much worse.

That being said my post was 12 hours after it happened, headline news on my laptop when I turned it on as well as around the world, again I'm sorry but this is a bit much.

I was actually worried about it not being C+V enough for some of our group.

So have no fear, I will never make this mistake again with our group.

Dan Chase

And boy did he do it in style - leadout train failed in the last k, boxed in twice, darting in and off wheels then straight up he had the fastest legs....

I`d like to point out that as a life long Cavendish fan I called it in a video I posted Saturday - though I was watching him vomit over himself as he suffered heatstroke on stage one as I was editing and uploading the video - being a Cav fan is always highs and lows...

Dan.

Riding his epic Green Jersey/5 stage winning way too small for me `11 McClaren Venge:

merziac

I truly feel that I try to sincerely contribute here when I post, in this day and age I never imagined this being this big of a deal and never would have done this if I had.

Even rocks have internet now days.

It is disappointing that I caused some here to think this poorly of me, guess I may be in the wrong place, not sure how a "forum" gets screwed down this tight.

Maybe we should adopt Roberts Rules of Order so we don't violate anymore supposed norms.

jyl

I’ve been pretty irritated that the cycling press has been calling Phillipsen the dominant sprinter today blah blah. Cav beat Phillipsen like a drum in 2021. Phillipsen won so much in 2023 because he had Van der Poel as his leadout, it is like being led out by Kittel, Phillipsen would get dropped off in P1 with 50 m to go.

In stage 3 this year VDP had a mechanical and Alpecin’s leadout just fell apart. In stage 5 Cav fought his way onto Phillipsen’s wheel expecting a Saturn V launch from VDP, when VDP fizzled Cav found another leadout and now Phillipsen was drafting Cav, when Cav broke left into open road Phillipsen was in the wind and never made up an inch on Cav.

I think Cav will end this Tour at 36 or even 37. He is faster than anyone there, his smarts and decision-making are on another level, and Astana is doing a good job with the leadout. Today things got disorganized at the end but they kept Cav at the front and out of the wind until 1 km.

merziac

Sorry man, I was gone by then.

Guess I wasn't thinking.

seagrade 

I have no dog in this fight, being neither a supporter, much less a fan, of Cavendish or Philipsen, but as a follower of the sport for a while now I occasionally enjoy putting a few facts in the way of a good story…

From my recollection Philipsen beat the sprinters who beat Cavendish like a drum in 2023, at least until Cavendish unfortunately crashed out. That was still three wins in the first seven stages.

Without rewinding the tape Cavendish won so much in 2021 because he had Morkov as a leadout.

As for MvdP dropping Philipsen in P1 with 50m to go, that seems a little closer to the line than I remember…

As much as his win today was an outstanding demonstration of experience, instinct, intuition, determination and acceleration, I think Cavendish will end this Tour at 35. Time will tell…

seagrade 

Just further to previous, I find comparisons of riders at similar stages of their careers much more informative than attempts to compare 39-year-old Cavendish with 26-year-old Philipsen.

In his first Tour Cavendish at age 22 had two top tens before a stage 8 DNF. In his first Tour Philipsen at age 21 had three top tens before a DNS at stage 12.

In his second Tour Cavendish at 23 had four wins before a DNS at stage 15. In his second Tour Philipsen at age 23 had six podiums without a win.

In his third Tour Cavendish at 24 had six wins. In his third Philipsen at 24 had two wins.

In his fourth Tour Cavendish at 25 have five more wins. In his fourth Philipsen at the same age had four wins.

So at the same age (25) both sprinters had started four Tours, although by then Cavendish had 15 wins to Philipsen’s six. For what that’s worth…