Mark Cavendish love a good ol’ Omerta, if nothing else.<\/p>\n
First he blamed Riccardo Ricco for all cycling’s ills, back in 2011:<\/p>\n
“The sport\u2019s better off without him,” Cavendish said. “He\u2019s not a problem that the sport faces, he is the problem that the sport faces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t mirror a lot of riders, he\u2019s a special case and I think we\u2019re better off without him,” Cavendish continued as those gathered who don’t swallow looked at each other and rolled their eyes. \u201cObviously I hope he does recover well, but I really do hope he becomes someone’s bitch in prison.”<\/p>\n
OK the last part was <\/em>funny but still, the point was clear – ‘blame Ricco, it’s all his fault<\/em>.’<\/p>\n Then there was the Armstrong love, then the ‘anger’ as expressed in his autobiography and yet, somehow, he told us it was all ok to still cherish those memories of LA in his pomp:<\/p>\n “Now we\u2019re asked to comment on Armstrong and have our morals judged on the strength of what we say, when a lot of us are, rightly or wrongly, too preoccupied with the here and now to have an opinion. Even though I was watching those Tours that Lance won, wide-eyed and innocent, I also can\u2019t pretend that I\u2019m eaten up with resentment or feel betrayed now I know it was a big charade.<\/p>\n “As unjust, as distressing as it may be, as hard as it is for us to accept, I\u2019m sure that Lance still feels that no one and nothing can take away the emotions of those seven Tours at the time, and the same really goes for those of us who were watching.”<\/p>\n Then there was this episode at a Quickstep meet and greet last year:<\/p>\n