Ode To the Leadout Man – Mark Renshaw!

1) *B – whilst he was a gatecrasher, I'm certain the badger would have punched him for A & C
2) a) Punching some protesting shipyard workers
b) that's uncle Phil getting ready to get in on the rumble
3) Reliving his time as WWF wrestler, Le Blaireau jumped from the top ropes to rescue the diminuitive Domoulin from an impending tag that would have seen chaos breakout on the stage
4) I'm not sure about this one, however would have to call the close battle in the badger's favour. Merckx was the recepient of an unlucky punch in '75 which saw him loose the yellow, and the right to be the first 6 time winner of le grande bouclé – that indicates that the winner would be hinault, but google fight disagrees

Just back from a quick ride down beach road and it was a 50 kph average.. on the way down, about 30 on the way back, got to love those northerlies!

1 b, the guy did is as a joke with hos mates… he regretted it
2 a Yep protesting Shipworkers, it was at Milan San Remo
2 b Yes it is Ando, but not getting ready to rumble, more like WTF!
3 THe bloke was being cornered by security, but of course being security they have to do things by the book and “control” the situation… The badger has no such limitations, he need not fear some nutter who may have a concealed weapon, he Acts!
4 Hinault, not because he is tougher, but because he would have no issues with kicking Eddy in the nuts (That is the thing with Badgers, they look kind of cute, but they are known for being vicious and when they attack they go for the soft stuff, literally they rip you guts out)

I love the way the hockey fight is commentated almost as though it's a boxing match. And the referees are standing by to make sure nobody gets hurt… wait, that's not right. I wouldn't want to see their faces after that.

1) B, he's an imposter
2) A bunch of protesting ship workers were blocking the road in the 1984 Giro d'Italia. (And I didn't even need to Google for that answer.)
2b) This is where my knowledge runs out. My guess is that he's a cyclist.
3) Somebody has to get him.
4) Based on fight experience, I'm guessing the Badger.

The answer to every question: the Badger is barmy (also the reason Phil Anderson has left fist ready – just in case the Badger tries to bite him).

1b Unwelcome gate crasher – every TdF podium session is like his kid's 16th birthday party – no invitation and I'll kick your a*se! (But if you bring booze – be prepared to share it with Daddy!)
2 Protesting ship workers – not so much innocent bystander. Those frenchies can be very bolshie! Big Phil looks surprised, but possibly willing to join in if there's any doubt the Badger will need it!
3 Like notsoswif said
4The badger for sure – he's so keen, he's already gnawing his own arm off in that pic! Eddy may be a Cannibal, but he looks so calm and in control of his domain!

I didn't realise Farrar was so ginger. He's going straight out of my Tour Fantasy Team.

That has to be the first time the words “class” and “humility” have been used in regards to Cavendish. Yes, he is definitely giving major props to his mates, as he should. But still, he is the cockiest, most arrogant cat in the peleton.

Of course that doesn't take away from his accomplishments. Cav has been pulling the legs of the other sprinters since 2008. (not counting the time he cause a big crash at Suisse – and losing the Green jersey last year – because of his propensity to sprinting diagonally)

1) B – Because it was a gatecrasher who jumped up on the podium, not a Française des Jeux rider.. idoit
2a) Shipyard protests and bike races never really go to well together…
2b) Phil Anderson.. “come on Badge! let me at them!!”
3) The Badger decided he cant take it any more after being initially thought to be the one to present the yellow jersey… only to find out that duty was to go to no other than adolescent Canadian pop “senstation” …Justin Beiber (CT's son perhaps????) “Enough is enough, au revoir!” Luckily, he had someone to land on..
4) The Badger has been quoted as saying “He has a head, two arms, two legs, just as I,” in reference to whether he fears Eddy Merckx.. From that, it is obvious that Big Bag Bernault would go onto to say.. “whilst he can use these similar body parts to win bike races.. he should steer clear of me in a boxing ring!”

1. B, he was an imposter and not a rider so the Badger attacked!
2. Shipyard workers tried to gain publicity by protesting in the Giro and blocking the road, the badger was less than impressed
That Phil Anderson looking just plain confused
3. I can only guess he's getting some Smackdown on an unsuspecting assailant.
4. I imagine the Badger would win in an all out brawl, but judging from this vid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dA2zy0hLbs) I reckon the Cannibal could be pretty resourceful if you allow things other than fists

As to the Power balance bands, it's all about self belief

1. b. This was a gatecrasher dressed as a FdJ rider, or one of the team that was left out of the TdF 9….:P
2. a. Shipyard Protesters. Saw the Video on U-Tube not long ago
2. b. Yeap that's uncle Phil
3. I second the motion, I'm with Notso
4. Depends. If it was UFC then the Badger, If it was WWF then I would say it would be whoever can dress up in the brightest costume and fake being hit the most.

Power Balance bands = Basic Muscle Testing principles used by Kinesiologists. Been around for years. Not even considered a placebo. http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/comment/powerbala…

I'm guessing (hoping) Farrar has a 2nd band on the left arm to keep his balance….

First, I think we really, really need to give Renshaw tons of credit. As some are saying on cyclingnews – he's a beast. And as Eurosport have said, without Renshaw, winning these stages would be very difficult for Cav.

Next, about Cav, I agree with Sepo, thanking his team mates is a bare minimum we'd expect from anyone, really this is default-level behaviour not to be a cad. Showing respect to Petacchi IS a step in the right direction (well done Cav), though excusing your bike-and helmet throwing on 'feeling bad for the team'…hmmmm. Is winning for the team so important that you'll shut the door on people? If so, then HTC or Cav himself have put too much pressure on his shoulders.

Given some of the shocking attitude we've seen this year from the Manxman, I think the real litmus test will be when he next under-performs. As Nancy Kerrigan said:
“Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and NOT RUN AWAY WHEN YOU LOSE. Everyone has bad stretches and real successes. Either way, you have to be careful not to lose your confidence or get too confident.”

Last year when i first saw Cav (as i picked up watching cycling again for the TdF) i thought he was great – he won and he thanked his team mates: nice. I didn't pass judgement on the DQ since I didn't feel i knew enough at that point.

Then at the start of this year, he trains when his dental surgeon tells him not to, gets infected, screws up most of his early season form, has a go at Greipel who's in form and just looking for a ride in MSR, sprints Abdou style into Haussler and puts him and Coyot out of TdS and TdF – will barely admit it was his fault, DOESN'T apologise, AND tries to pass the buck to Haussler, and just a few days ago throws bike and helmet after losing the stage.

The only other positive I've seen is he acknowledged Petacchi for his great stage 4 performance (when Cav sat up, lol), but then again he acknowledged Thor last year before continuing on to this year's beyatch-style behaviour. His constant 'everyone hates me but they don't know me' whinge is getting pretty old too. Sorry but I think he's humble in victory (all well and good), but has a massive chip on his shoulder that results in pretty unmanly behaviour (including dangerous sprinting) when things don't go his way. Here's hoping he grows up…faster.

Quick question. Why does the breakaway attack at start? Why not attack from 100 km, then you would have more energy and more likely winning.

Thanks in advance to answering my noobie question.

1. The podium gate-crasher was probably lucky that it wasn't one of the other two reasons or he might have come off a lot worse.
2. Shipyard protestors on the receiving end of the right; Phil Anderson ready to rock. .
3. A race spokesman has given an official reason. In reality, Hinault attacked a surprised Blazing Saddles fan because of a horrible misunderstanding (“Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers!”).
4. In their hey-day, it would have been difficult to pick. I have no doubt that the Badger would walk out victorious these days. Eddie seems to have mellowed (a “kunstbox”, while possibly misspelt and in need of an apostrophe, is still a gift of sorts) while I suspect the last gift Hinault gave anyone was a knuckle sandwich.

1 – 2 = already eloquently answered above. however,
3. Marsellus Wallace there in the bottom right yelled out “ability don't last…and your days are just about over”. What else could the badger do?
4. Does it matter? If that fight ever happened, cycling would be the winner!

Bob – the breakaway goes early to get maximum publicity for their sponsors as the race is on TV all day all over Europe. The Director Sportif (the team boss) will send out their best man in the breakaway if they have the sponsor and their clients there that day.

1. B Taking out a FdJ wannabe.
2. Mid-race protests don't go down too well with the Badger
2b. That's the 1984 Liege=Bastogne-Liege runner up…who says we never remember second place?
3. That's the Badger's pre-podium warm up routine. You need to stay loose to deal with FdJ wannabes.
4. While Hinault has an obvious edge in experience, all his fights appear to be one punch knock-outs. I still back Eddy over the 12 rounds.

The Power Bands work if you believe they do. As Petacchi said to Cav: “It's all in your head”

Cav's comment shows as much class from Petacci as it does from Cav. COMPLETELY different guy to a few days ago, let alone a few months ago. Good on him.

As far as the fight goes, the SMH sums it up perfectly in all its absurdity: “Video footage of the fight shows Barredo looking for Costa soon after they stopped. He took off his front wheel, gave his bike to a team official and then sprinted to Costa brandishing the wheel and trying to hit Costa over the head with it.”

HILARIOUS! Especially given the ice hockey example, however it's still a million times tougher than soccer.

1. Was a gatecrasher, but since when has FdJ not been gatecrashing the race anyway?

2. Isn't that the guy who was yelling at Lance?? Phil Anderson (great on the post-race wrap up on SBS last night) had never heard of EPO, but was still keen to punch on.

3. That's the Badger's invisible bike routine.

4. The Cannibal would take his name too literally and would get all Mike Tyson on The Badger. Mmm… Ear.

The power bands work… they really do! (but haven't got a clue how haha) My coach has one and we tried all sorts of experiments with it including placebos etc. and if you are wearing it or even just holding it or touching it, it helps your balance, flexibility and power. Very strange but I reckon they're legit

Answers to a. b. c. d. e. f. & any other question about Hinault: Because if you absolutely, positively, have to take every motha in the room to the 'Pain Cave', accept no substitute: Le Blaireu!

For the pedants, though notso swift has most of it covered:
1. Gatecrasher
2. Shipworkers protest. Phil Anderson in the background, he is going with the left because Le Blaireu accepts no imitators
3. Helping security out, Le Blaireu is more qualified to bring the hurt. Has this photo been photo shopped? Hinault usually brings the pain from the front.
4. Merckxx, if you want to beat the French you go through Belgium.

1) B, Clearly a gate crasher. But still quite lol.
2) A bunch of protesting ship workers. Phil Anderson in the background, just incase the Aussie has to show him how its really done.
3) Cause his going to smash the guy in half. No one messing with Hinault in HIS HOUSE!!!!
4) Neither. Jens Voigt would win. But maybe the Badger.

Because there is 6 hours of potential television exposure, and the team sponsor wants all of it. So, if you don't go – someone else will.

If anybody is a fan of those power balance bands, I have a magic feather to sell them. I'll even throw in a tiger-repelling rock FOR FREE (see http://www.tv.com/the-simpsons/much-apu-about-n…).

1) b, Gate crasher
2) a Shipworkers protesting, and Phil Anderson.
3) Security cornered him and then the badger finished the job.
4) The badger, see question 3 and know that's him out of his prime!

Power Balance bands work exactly as they were designed – a very effective way of transferring money from your pocket into the pocket of the guy selling them.

1) b – A fake! (Like Cav !)
2) a – Shipworkers protesting. The Badger thinks hard work is good for you and you should do it for free. Aussie Phil.
3) He spotted Cav crying (again) to the cameras.
4) The Badger of course.

Of course the power bands work!! My girlfriend swears by them. Only Farrar is doing it wrong, your not supposed to wear them on your wrist…

Re; Hockey fights… I wonder if they have the same problem with street violence in Canada?

Power Balance bands are the new nose strips. Remember when every second swimmer, cyclist, and footballer wore them on their nose?

Contador still does

Cool if you’re PRO.

I'd agree to disagree. He's not the Messiah, he's just a naughty boy.

But I'd rather watch Cav when he's on his game than half the sprinters out there (Robbie and Hoshvold maybe, but Thor's riding more smart than really fast right now so it's not exactly riveting).

How many 25 year olds ignore advice and think sheer b@alls will get them through anything DeWulf? Ignoring a too-clean creepy guy in a white coat who tells you to floss more is not exactly a crime, hey he might be stupid but at least he's clean.

Greipel is a flog, reminds me of the big kid at school throwing his weight around in recess footy but would get smashed outside of the playground. What Cav said was right, Greipel hasn't proved himself a sprinter at a Grand Tour last time I looked. Haussler needs to man up, if he's p1ssed off with Cav (and he should have been) then don't whine about him to other people on Facebook. Cav didn't exactly want his carbon wheel to collapse, but all the he said she said stuff is like 15 year old girls texting. Get back out there and smash the guy, ideally ride him off your wheel but if you have to sharpen those elbows Graham Brown style.

Anyway, Mark Cavendish is supposed to repeat the immortal speech to Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights in his head before each stage:

“It's because it's what you love, Cav. It is who you were born to be. And here you sit, thinking. Well, Cav is not a thinker. Cav is a sprinter. He is a doer. And that's what you need to do. You don't need to think. You need to sprint. You need speed. You need to go out there, and you need to thrash your pedals. You need to fire them up. You need to grab a hold of that line between speed and chaos, and you need to wrestle it to the ground like a demon cobra!
And then, when the fear rises up in your belly, you use it. And you know that fear is powerful, because it has been there for billions of years. And it is good. And you use it. And you ride it; you ride it like a skeleton horse through the gates of hell, and then you win, Cav. You WIN! And you don't win for anybody else. You win for you, you know why? Because a man takes what he wants. He takes it all.
And you're a man, aren't you? Aren't you?”

Cav, go at 'em like a Spider monkey!

The video's not working for me, Wade (at home, not behind work firewall).
Also, we're leaving in 48 hours, into Aramits/Pau on the 15th. 16th will be a smash into the hills (maybe into Spain), 17th recovery/reg, 18th Etape. We're off around 2000 (Clarky, Mike B and I, along with a couple of others). Drop me a line if you want to race up the Tourmalet. I'll have to request a headstart though. Your big ring, non-compact shenanigans are too shocking for me.
Tim

The nose strips have a legit physiological and obvious purpose.

As someone who has bad inner workings in his schnozz, I know more open nasal passages mean less congestion for me, thus better perfomance (well that's my excuse for regular “bushman's”). The strips also open the nose up to reduce heat in your sinuses meaning better functioning on hot days. Anyone with allergies ect knows how their perfomance suffers. Also, air exhaled through the nose creates back pressure when one exhales. It slows the air escape so the lungs have more time to extract oxygen from them. http://breathing.com/articles/nose-breathing.htm

Contador supposedly has pollen allergies, hence why he wears them.

A variation on JT's view, Powerband are just pure hand relief. Anyone who wears one is a tosser.

The real reason why the Badger is seen punching people, pushing them off the podium, etc. is because these people were either wearing Powerbands or selling them.

Off topic: Police targeting motorists who pose a threat to cyclists.
http://motoring.ninemsn.com.au/cars/news/792552…

On Topic: Renshaw riding like 10 men, he must have been riding into a northerly up Ricketts that day.

1) Because Bernard Hinault is the reason why Waldo is hiding.
b – he was a Gate crasher
2) Because Bernard Hinault 's hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.
a Shipworkers protesting, and Phil Anderson.
3) Because Bernard Hinault is so fast, he can ride around the world and slap himself in the back of the head.
4) The badger, because there is no shim on Bernard Hinault 's cleat. There is only another fist.

Sam,

Proof that power balance works – placebo effect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo

They are a placebo, but if you beleive it it works

1.) B. Imposter. Damn funny one, esp given the reaction!

2.) Portesting shipyard workers blocking the race – thought cyclists were an easy target given their size. Think again! And that's PA, sans flowing locks.

3.) Someone muttered “1980, knee injury? soft! Should be nicknamed 'bludger' not 'badger'.

4.) Gotta give this one to Eddy. He would just hold Badger at arms length and let him swing away whilst he repeatedly kicked him into submission.

Anyone know why Cavendish has the British stripes on front of his jersey, unless just for decoration – don't believe he has won a road title?

first roadie fight I ever witnessed was at the Kew boulevard. One guy removing his shoes to throw punches. I didn't understand why he removed his shoes until years later. I wouldn't fight Hinault even today. Hinault to KO Merckx in 3 rounds.

French flag, special edition HTC TdF kit

So the Easter Bunny will be reall too? My 3 year old son really believes in him too. The fact is, even my little toddler will soon be old enough to know that wearing a silicon bangle with a couple of holograms does not give you magical powers.

It shouldn't cost $59.95 to prove you are stupid.

But it does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xem58NKQigs&feat…

Enjoy this… light hearted responses to the altercation.

Power Balance bands.
Noboy is doing much of a job to convince anyone that they work so far. To be honest, I dont believe in them either, so im not going to do much of a better job. Its just an old scam thats been going round for a long long time in my opinion. The power bands dont work, but Ican sell you a magic crystal that will help your balance.

However, if there was going to be a science to it, here it is. Now keep in mind none of this is conventionally accepted medical science and not in the least bit evidence based. BUT.

Most of it would come down to proprioception and the nervous system. Close your eyes and punch yourself in the head (not too hard, just for effect). You cant see your arm, but you know where your fist is and where its going. Proprioception is your ability to determine where parts of your body are in space. You have nerve fibres made just for this job and they fire off signals constantly. The brain recieves billions of these signals per second, but cannot process them all. So it prioritises. I cant pretend to truely understand this stuff, as im not up to it in my course yet, but I believe the brian proritises signals from close in to your head. I suppose well trained muscles would have more attention paid to them by the brain as well.
So what the powerbalance probably does (not that I believe this) is somehow make your body pay better attention to the propriceptive fibres near your wrist. Maybe this helps your brain sort through things and help it to contract muscles with more power or stops you from being put off balance. After all, heavy metals such as zinc and cadmium seem to have an ability to completely stuff up proprioception (according to some non double blinded sources). This is why specialized foot wedges are useless (I have a feeling varus/valgus wedges help to fix pedaling actions partly through proprioception (other than just mechanically)).

I get a funny feeling that the process of training would mean that your brain would learn to pay special attention to some areas of body in terms of balance/power. But maybe if you were unco and untrained, the “mylar hollowgram” malarky might just help you to get a bit of better balance.

Disclaimer: this is based on things I have picked up at a bike fit conference and a bit of outside reading. I dont pretend to know exactly what im talking about, nor would I ever argue these points of view to be true. I really do believe in evidence based medicine. Just putting the possibility out there you know.

I had nothing there either, but I saw it some where else… guess what there are Power Balance bands involved !!!!

The HTFU! wrist bands work better!

I think the thing about Cav causing the crash at the Tour de Suisse was overblown. I thought Haussler was partially at fault for keeping his head down. You have to look where you are going. That doesn't excuse Cav for not keeping his line, but still, you have to look where you are going. Also, everyone is pushing for position in a sprint. In Stage 5 Freire and Hushovd where pushing like crazy with Renshaw to get on Farrar's wheel. Nobody crashed so nobody thought twice about it, but it really wasn't much different than Cav and Haussler.

Thanks…now note Mick Rogers with it too…

Sam, all i'm hearing is excuses for someone who after 3 years in the peleton, should know how to be a man and be professional. Given he admitted at least part responsibility for the TdS crash, apology to Coyot was a must. Hell if he was going to cry that would have been a good time to do it.

Also, here's a sense of HTFU in your words regarding Haussler and Greipel…how about applying that to poor little “nobody loves me” Cavie-boy? It's pretty obvious you love a 'winner' regardless of what sh*t they pull either in or out of the race. So yeah, we'll disagree.

As for the crash itself Lexdan, you say Haussler had his head down? Erm, well, if Cav's head wasn't down too, why the hell did he ride into Haussler? At the end of the day huge line variation from Cav caused the crash. Period.

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