[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOjKfqeiQvo[/youtube]
Let’s face it, the man went early.
All great sprinters know how to throw their bike at the finish line. Cavendish, Petacchi, Boonen, Marcel Kittel have their throwing skills down.
Today in Tirreno-Adriatico we received proof that Kittel also knows how to toss his bike way before the finish line. After his crash, the big German did a clean and jerk and slam routine on his Giant bike that bounced the machine hard off the tarmac.
This is an image you’re not likely to see on the Giant website or the Giant-Shimano team website. Go to Giant’s site and they have a nice photo of John Degenkolb winning stage three in Paris-Nice but no bike toss while the team site has a muscle shot of Kittel flexing his biceps. You don’t want to mess with him, Cav.
Team manager Iwan Spekenbrink thanked Giant profusely when they stepped up their financial commitment and saved the team from folding this year. Well, Giant can’t be happy about Kittel’s bike manhandling. They’re lucky he didn’t snap the frame in two with his bare hands or rip the derailleur off with his teeth.
That makes for an even more viral video and clients do that seeing their high performance creations smashed to pieces.
Kittel’s bike toss was far more impressive than Sir Brad’s half fling – half roll of his Pinarello against a rock wall in the 2013 Giro del Trentino. Then again, we can’t expect a skinny guy like Wiggins to have the requisite muscle to really trash his bike.
We were impressed with David Millar’s effort in stage 5 of the 2008 Giro d’Italia. He had a stage win in the bag but slipped out of his pedal. Being a well-mannered, thoughtful Brit, he took his bike over to the barrier, made sure he had a clear, fan-free launch area, and tossed it over. Nicely done.
The wonderful Cycling Weekly site also showcases Peter Sagan’s bike toss in Dubai. The Fastvakian shows some concern for the expensive machine and merely gives it a gentle though irritated push into the concrete barrier.
Still for pure power, you can’t beat Kittel. How many watts did he generate slamming that bike down? Impressive stuff. There’s an important distinction between throwing your bike and actually trying to dismember it on the pavement.
Chapeau, Kittel. Cav used to be quite skilled at the helmet toss but you’re the dominant sprinter when it comes to the bike toss.
Bike Slam
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