Cavendish talks about being back on a Specialized McLaren Venge + video
Manxman chalks up first victory on a Venge after a year away
Cav Specialized McLaren Venge
When Omega Pharma–Quick-Step’s Mark Cavendish won his first race of the season yesterday, Stage 1 of the Tour de San Luis in Argentina, he did it aboard a Specialized Venge, a bike with which he’s well acquainted having ridden one when he was with HTC-High Road. Here’s a quick video of Cav’s thoughts on the bike…
Cav spent last year riding Pinarellos with Team Sky but he was on a Venge when he became World Champion and won the Tour de France green jersey in 2011.
“It’s a bike that I believe is the fastest bike in the world,” says Cav. Of course, he would say that, wouldn’t he? You’ve got to keep the sponsors happy.
“It’s the aerodynamics more than anything,” he continues. “It really is incredibly fast like nothing else you can ever imagine.”
Cav has also switched from Nike to Specialized shoes this season and he reckons his new footwear – which looks like Specialized’s S-Works road shoe – has been made stiffer and more fitted for him to sprint in.
On his ambitions for the season, Cavendish says he wants to do well in the Tour de France – both personally and the team – and to win the green jersey again.
Were all of the OPQ guys riding some kind of new Langster that's not announced yet?
Dude could ride a slammed Tesco Special and still hammer everyone.
Oh, **** off Cav, seriously **** off if you're blathering about this bike again. Can you shut him up please. Please shut this guy up. He just wants to talk about his Venge, **** off.
Scott Sportster '08 | Cannondale CAAD8 '12
Oh, **** off Cav, seriously **** off if you're blathering about this bike again. Can you shut him up please. Please shut this guy up. He just wants to talk about his Venge, **** off.
wow, insightful stuff. personally i'd rather hear cav blathering about his venge. ymmv.
Gizmo_ wrote:Oh, **** off Cav, seriously **** off if you're blathering about this bike again. Can you shut him up please. Please shut this guy up. He just wants to talk about his Venge, **** off.
wow, insightful stuff. personally i'd rather hear cav blathering about his venge. ymmv.
Oh come on, I was paraphrasing his press conference the other day...
Scott Sportster '08 | Cannondale CAAD8 '12
Don't worry Gizmo_, some of us got it. (Also, does anyone know what Cav said about Pinarellos when he was with Sky?)
bradley wiggins once said to the question 'what is the best bike in the peleton?'
his answer 'whatever bike i am sponsored to ride'
Don't worry Gizmo_, some of us got it. (Also, does anyone know what Cav said about Pinarellos when he was with Sky?)
Yeah, he said exactly what the sponsors wanted him to say! Humour aside, there is a reason Cav sounds very positive most of the time. The sponsors love him. His words are reported in positive media stories, which associate the team/sponsors nicely with 1. a winner, 2. a family man with a clean-cut image. Sure, he pulls no punches if he thinks the team haven't pulled their weight, but that's purely on the sporting side. He's always said nice things about HTC, Sky (companies I mean, rather than teams), Pina, Spesh, Nike, Oakley etc. That's why he's worth the fat paycheck - from a corporate perspective, I think winning races is just the bit that highlights all those companies as winning brands.
If the bicycle was invented tomorrow, it would be seen as the solution, not the problem
Good to hear that Cav, is on a winning streak again (well done) but that's one UGLY bike he's riding! But it's what he likes; and rides well on it.
I think he might have been quoting Sean Kelly when he said it though!
Chris D
That was a messy sprint with Tommeke
Sir Velo
I think he said he missed spesh while with sky once.
Sig
Were all of the OPQ guys riding some kind of new Langster that's not announced yet?
The Langster Pro I think: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road/langster/langsterpro
Very tasty indeed
Id love to know how they have made stiff shoes even stiffer. best bet is to send me a Venge, some shoes and a fancy langster please.
Good on him. If Specialized were paying me to ride their bikes I'd tell everyone they were brilliant, too.
Cav is obviously a switched-on businessman and knows how to work his brand as a rider, I remember the scene well when he went over the finish line in an HTC jersey making a phone symbol with his hands. These sort of things will sell products for the sponsors and probably let Cav name his price when he renegotiates contracts. Very clever stuff if you ask me.
Good on him. If Specialized were paying me to ride their bikes I'd tell everyone they were brilliant, too.Cav is obviously a switched-on businessman and knows how to work his brand as a rider, I remember the scene well when he went over the finish line in an HTC jersey making a phone symbol with his hands. These sort of things will sell products for the sponsors and probably let Cav name his price when he renegotiates contracts. Very clever stuff if you ask me.
Do these sort of things really sell products? Would a person undecided on whether to buy a Specialized or a Pinarello really have their opinion swayed by Cavendish saying it's the best in the world?
Saint Mark wrote:Good on him. If Specialized were paying me to ride their bikes I'd tell everyone they were brilliant, too.Cav is obviously a switched-on businessman and knows how to work his brand as a rider, I remember the scene well when he went over the finish line in an HTC jersey making a phone symbol with his hands. These sort of things will sell products for the sponsors and probably let Cav name his price when he renegotiates contracts. Very clever stuff if you ask me.
Do these sort of things really sell products? Would a person undecided on whether to buy a Specialized or a Pinarello really have their opinion swayed by Cavendish saying it's the best in the world?
Nope, but they might have asked for opinions on a well known cycling website - gulp! 
Singletrack MTB mag
road.cc on YouTube
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