Okay, so I was in St. Louis, getting ready for the Monday start of the Tour of Missouri. I managed to score some tickets for a college football game (Missouri vs. Illinois, for anyone interested) when prior to the game they introduced Mark Cavendish to the crowd as part of the advance promotion for the race, which is one of the two major races in the U.S. this year. After the introduction, Cavendish was walking along the sidelines back toward a corner entrance of the stadium and I managed to catch his eye. He came over, we shook hands and he signed an autograph. He was very, very cool to me in our brief interaction, friendly and warm and engaging, and this with him only knowing me as some Joe in the crowd at a football game, with nothing that identified me as a cycling writer.
Cavendish gets beat up a lot in the mainstream press for being cocky, but I have to say that after my encounter today I am very impressed with him as a person. No doubt he's an awesome rider. He took six (!) stages in the Tour de France in July and won the green jersey of the Tour of Missouri in 2008 as the best sprinter. But it was fun to see the human side, too. Should be great watching him this week competing again in the Tour of Missouri -- to see if he can maintain his green jersey from last year or maybe even win the whole thing outright.
On a side note, despite his very public introduction to the entire stadium full of people at midfield with the PA and shown on the jumbotron, no less, I saw no one approach him or even demonstrate a hint of recognition of who Cavendish is as he stuck around to watch the first part of the game. I'd like to think this was polite deference but unfortunately, it was no doubt a demonstration once again of how little awareness the general American public has of pro bike racing. I can only imagine how even a mid-level NBA or NFL player would have been beset by autograph seekers had they been in the same setting, and this was literally one of the best cyclists in the world standing there with his hands in his pockets.
Comments
I saw him on the Col des Abeilles during the Tour this year. I’m betting he becomes a household name in the US before too long.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalkerbeth/3787864109/in/set-72157621773451534/
David you made Marks day, so cool.
Hurrah! True cyclists (a.k.a.’Amateurs’) need no more heroes, superstars, commodities. Cycling is the every(wo)man adventure, physically and mentally. A certain Americano is the template for evry bit of cycling training. Let Cavendish perform to international accolades, but truth be told Americans will not wrap their minds around cycling, that leaves us amateurs to both it’s glories and the sense we belong to some secret cult. Bruce
when someone gets very good at a Sport it tends to make them Cocky and Arrogant ,Human Frailty being what it is. But he made a good impression on you and came across as very nice. Lance Armstrong made a Cycle through the Phoenix Park in Dublin last Wednesday to the Adulation of the People both Dubliners and Tourists alike .He was Accompanied by Cyclists in their Thousands in Spandex and also those in Suits and in Working Clothes. He spread the Word on Twitter that he would be making a Cycle . After the Tour De France he was Promoting his Cancer Charity in various Places and he also did the Tour of Ireland Race as well. He always comes across as being very Friendly and Accomodating to the Fans. He Thoroughly enjoyed Himself on his Irish visit.
That is pretty darn cool. I would have bagged the football game and asked him a load of questions. Although I don’t usually pull for him to win races (I like thor) it would have been interesting to talk to him. Congrats.
Nice! I’ve always found cyclists to be among the nicest people in the world, and the pros at the Tour of Missouri–Cav included–were no exception. I was lucky enough to meet many of them (Cav, Zabriskie, VDV, Big George, Thor, Jens, Pelizotti, most of Team Type 1, etc.). Without exception, these men–many of whom are rock stars in Europe–were gracious, appreciative, generous with their time, and patient explaining their sport (or the pronunciation of their names) to local neophytes. I can’t imagine anyone going to an NBA or NFL game with the expectation of meeting or chatting with one of their heroes, which is part of what makes cycling so great. The other part is the cycling itself. Again, few fans of other sports will ever have the chance to play a pickup game in a pro arena, but on my way back from a morning ride I passed one of the tour’s riders heading out to warm up on the very same road I’d just ridden. He and I ride at incomprehensibly different skill levels, but in that moment, as we nodded to each other and smiled at the beautiful weather, we were both just kids on the playground of the gods.
that flickr pic is not of Cavendish, it’s Tony Martin..