(06-30-2021 01:48 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Yeah, it's a good story and and exciting race finish but I'm not the biggest Cavendish fan - I was definitely rooting for the breakaway. All great sprinters have to be cocky and aggressive but in his heyday Cav was an arrogant and entitled tool who was defensive and rude to anyone who didn't kiss his ass. Ask reporters who covered him back then. Eddy Merckx has more class in his little finger than Cavendish has in his entire body - I'll be sad if Cavendish break's Merckx's record for stage victories (which still seems unlikely but now looks at least possible).

Hopefully the last few years have humbled him a bit...

A lot of athletes are not so likeable, and perhaps that's been the case more often than not in the past. Ever seen the movie "Downhill Racer"? The anti-hero was certainly a thing a long time before today. I feel fortunate to have seen the times when there was not as much "noise" surrounding athletes as there is today with all the constant media and online stuff. But perhaps you're more right than wrong on your points above. We'll never know as those athletes of yesteryear functioned in a different environment than today's do. As will tomorrow's. Dale Murphy just isn't everyone's cup of tea, which I do find a shame, but still.

Here's the scoop on today's time trial, which certainly proved interesting:

Tadej Pogacar routs rivals in Tour de France time trial