Cadel Evans Discussion Thread

[Boeing]

Great news! The Giro field just keeps getting better and better. A top 10 could definitely be possible for him here, would be nice to see him get a stage as well.
Good news for Tejay also, he'll most likely be leader at the Tour now, like he deserves.

Yup, the "double".....ok right double what? finish? Podium? pretty much Cadel throwing in the towel for the tour..

 

[Afrank]

Tour team leader like he deserves? There are plenty of better gt riders out there who are not team leaders.

The guy is 23 and already getting drilled into his head that his entire career should be based chasing a top 5 in 1 race in July every year then spending the remaining 11 months talking about July.

Who does BMC have that can lead in the Tour, there is Evans and Van Garderen. One a aging grand tour rider who is very likely past his prime, the other a young up and coming grand tour rider. IMO I see Van Garderen as a better choice to lead BMC in the Tour. Like Anderson said, Evans needs to prove he deserves to be leader at the Tour. And based on results so far this season Van Garderen is the one proving he deserves leadership.

And so what if his main focus is the Tour, like you pointed out, he's 23. Maybe he'll focus on other grand tours in the future, if he wants to focus on the Tour now, that's his choice.

 

[Afrank]

Nibali 'might be able' to take some time on him? Are you kidding

PS: I don't think it's the last time we've seen Evans contesting for a GT win, but he's far from being in (previous) top form.

Yeah, I believe Nibali will be able to take time on him. A better sentence would have been guys like Evans might be able to help Nibali in taking time on Wiggins.

 

[The Hitch]

Evans - who if he gets on form can fight it out with the heads of state on the climbs.

van garderen - who can't.

This isnt 2012 with 100km tts and no mtfs



ANd the point isnt that TJVG isnt allowed to choose what GT he wants to ride. its that hes being hyped way past his abilities. Youd think BMc had the new AndY schleck or something the way the press and the forum has been going about it.

Its classics season, and BMC have the world champion and best classics rider of the last 4 years, they have Thor, Phinney, GVA, Oss, but 6 months all ive been hearing about BMC and all they get asked about is who will lead their assault on the Tour. Which is fine if they have got the favorite or something, but even with the depleted field it looks highly unlikely to be anything more than a shot at the top 5.

and many on this forum believe that anything past the podium is irrelevant. So much hype on a mid top 10 placing is well ott. Id much rather see Evans going Sella for stages.

 

[Afrank]

Evans - who if he gets on form can fight it out with the heads of state on the climbs.

van garderen - who can't.

This isnt 2012 with 100km tts and no mtfs



ANd the point isnt that TJVG isnt allowed to choose what GT he wants to ride. its that hes being hyped way past his abilities. Youd think BMc had the new AndY schleck or something the way the press and the forum has been going about it.

Its classics season, and BMC have the world champion and best classics rider of the last 4 years, they have Thor, Phinney, GVA, Oss, but 6 months all ive been hearing about BMC and all they get asked about is who will lead their assault on the Tour. Which is fine if they have got the favorite or something, but even with the depleted field it looks highly unlikely to be anything more than a shot at the top 5.

and many on this forum believe that anything past the podium is irrelevant. So much hype on a mid top 10 placing is well ott. Id much rather see Evans going Sella for stages.

I guess we'll have to see if Evans can get back to, or close to, the form that won him the 2011 Tour. If he can, then yes, he should be given leadership. But as I've right now, it's doubtful we'll see a 2011 Evans again.

For my part I simply see TJVG as talented GT rider. Who I want to see, and think can, do very well in future GT's. Sure he gets hyped a lot, but every young rider that shows they can challenge in races like the Tour de France get's hyped a lot.

 

[Jelantik]

Evans - who if he gets on form can fight it out with the heads of state on the climbs.

van garderen - who can't.

This isnt 2012 with 100km tts and no mtfs



ANd the point isnt that TJVG isnt allowed to choose what GT he wants to ride. its that hes being hyped way past his abilities. Youd think BMc had the new AndY schleck or something the way the press and the forum has been going about it.

Its classics season, and BMC have the world champion and best classics rider of the last 4 years, they have Thor, Phinney, GVA, Oss, but 6 months all ive been hearing about BMC and all they get asked about is who will lead their assault on the Tour. Which is fine if they have got the favorite or something, but even with the depleted field it looks highly unlikely to be anything more than a shot at the top 5.

and many on this forum believe that anything past the podium is irrelevant. So much hype on a mid top 10 placing is well ott. Id much rather see Evans going Sella for stages.

Agreed. I was wondering about that. He is being over hyped so much. At least Evan proved he has what it takes to win GT before, still the press think more highly on Tejay. He will be a GT rider in the future, but to think Tejay deserves to lead TDF team, makes me wonder. I don't see him being able to compete with the likes of contador, froome, andy (if he's back), purito, valverde, gesink, porte. I can see Evan will. Well, in fact, I see Tejay will be more than top ten for this coming TDF. Top 5 will be a miracle for him. Even, Porte will probably be able to hand off tejay's rear on a plate that easy.

 

[movingtarget]

Tour team leader like he deserves? There are plenty of better gt riders out there who are not team leaders.

The guy is 23 and already getting drilled into his head that his entire career should be based chasing a top 5 in 1 race in July every year then spending the remaining 11 months talking about July.

Yes it's a trap many fall into. Kreuziger, Gesink, Gadret, Roche etc. TJVG seems to have a full time press officer while some some of the other young riders from the US with as much potential seem to only get a passing mention or when they perform. TJVG is hyped even when he isn't performing. His ride on the last stage of the Criterium International did not show much fight. Yes he is young and talented but asking Evans to basically move aside three months before the Tour is a bit rich. We will soon know whether Evans has it this season or not and if he doesn't he probably should not ride the Tour at all. The option would be try again at the Vuelta or think of retiring. Maybe forget grand tours and have a shot at the classics next year and the shorter stage races as he rides well with Gilbert. Age does not impact as much in the one day races.

 

[del1962]

Yeah, I believe Nibali will be able to take time on him. A better sentence would have been guys like Evans might be able to help Nibali in taking time on Wiggins.

Why would Evans help Nibali anymore than he would help Wiggins, on T-A he helped Froome limit his losses against Nibali if anything

EDIT : Obviously his reason wasn't to limit his losses, but he didn't think Froome has caught me, I must stop this Skyrider from limiting his losses against Nibali, Evans will work for himself and his team, regardless of other riders

 

[Ferminal]

He was working for Hushovd...

 

[Afrank]

Why would Evans help Nibali anymore than he would help Wiggins, on T-A he helped Froome limit his losses against Nibali if anything

EDIT : Obviously his reason wasn't to limit his losses, but he didn't think Froome has caught me, I must stop this Skyrider from limiting his losses against Nibali, Evans will work for himself and his team, regardless of other riders

Evans may attack and go for the win in some of the hilly classic-like stages (or maybe even the mountains if he has the form). And if he does, than I expect Nibali to be there going for the win with him. The addition of Evans would help him to take some time on Wiggins. Also what Ferminal said.
Plus the addition of Evans just means more competition for the skyborgs, which is good IMO.

 

[cineteq]

Yeah, I believe Nibali will be able to take time on him. A better sentence would have been guys like Evans might be able to help Nibali in taking time on Wiggins.

That's better.
Earlier in the 2012 TdF, Evans had the chance to attack Wiggins with Nibali in a descent and he didn't do it.

 

[movingtarget]

That's better.
Earlier in the 2012 TdF, Evans had the chance to attack Wiggins with Nibali in a descent and he didn't do it.

As it turned out Sky caught him pretty quickly so it was a bit of an optimistic move but I think he expected Evans to follow him. If Evans can find some form in the Giro, the race will become more interesting especially if Wiggins is under pressure.

 

[M Sport]

ANd the point isnt that TJVG isnt allowed to choose what GT he wants to ride. its that hes being hyped way past his abilities. Youd think BMc had the new AndY schleck or something the way the press and the forum has been going about it..

He might be being hyped beyond his abilities ...but that's not beyond Cadel's 2012/13 abilities so good luck to them. It's not like other teams don't talk up their prospects.

 

[cineteq]

As it turned out Sky caught him pretty quickly so it was a bit of an optimistic move but I think he expected Evans to follow him. If Evans can find some form in the Giro, the race will become more interesting especially if Wiggins is under pressure.

Actually Nibali sat up with 3 Km to go to the final climb after making the calculations. With Evans, they would've made it over. Now, would have they stayed away? That's another story.

 

[The Hitch]

For my part I simply see TJVG as talented GT rider. Who I want to see, and think can, do very well in future GT's. Sure he gets hyped a lot, but every young rider that shows they can challenge in races like the Tour de France get's hyped a lot.

No TJ has not shown he can challenge for the Tour. But he gets treated like hes the 3rd favorite behind Froome and Contador.

That is not being hyped, that is being massively overhyped.

He may improve enough over the next couple of years to 1 day challenge for the Tour but atm he is not capable of that.

 

[Afrank]

No TJ has not shown he can challenge for the Tour. But he gets treated like hes the 3rd favorite behind Froome and Contador.

That is not being hyped, that is being massively overhyped.

He may improve enough over the next couple of years to 1 day challenge for the Tour but atm he is not capable of that.

I think he has and is continuing to show he will be able to challenge in the future. I agree, he's likely not going to be challenging this year (I could see him getting a top 10 at best), but definitely in the future he will.

Who's treating him like 3rd favorite?

 

[Pentacycle]

TJVG isn't a favourite for yellow, and not even one for the podium, but he's BMC's best bet for a top 5. He didn't show it PN though, maybe Pais Vasco would be a good race for him to podium.

 

[Jelantik]

TJVG isn't a favourite for yellow, and not even one for the podium, but he's BMC's best bet for a top 5. He didn't show it PN though, maybe Pais Vasco would be a good race for him to podium.

Naaahhh.. Quitana will shove him off the podium. He already missed podium in catalunya after a good showing, I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again.

 

[movingtarget]

Actually Nibali sat up with 3 Km to go to the final climb after making the calculations. With Evans, they would've made it over. Now, would have they stayed away? That's another story.

Yes I think there was a headwind and that's why Evans said he did not attack or something along those lines. But the Skyborg did not seem too perturbed at the time.

 

[maxmartin]

Naaahhh.. Quitana will shove him off the podium. He already missed podium in catalunya after a good showing, I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again.

Q will work for V in the tour period.

 

[trevim]

BMC has made the choice GT leadership wise. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't backfire: last year's Tour was perfect for Van Garderen, with "easy" mountain stages, lots of TT and a very controlled race. Nevertheless, I reckon that I was impressed with his 3 week consistency.
To this years Tour, maybe TvG improves climbing wise but I'm afraid he'll be crushed by Contador, Froome et al. Not that I care much
Anyway, good to see Evans in the Giro again after the epicness of the last time

 

[Jelantik]

Naaahhh.. Quitana will shove him off the podium. He already missed podium in catalunya after a good showing, I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again.

Q will work for V in the tour period.

o yea that's for sure. I was referring to Quintana on TVG in Vais Pasco.

 

[Pippo_San]

BMC has made the choice GT leadership wise. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't backfire: last year's Tour was perfect for Van Garderen, with "easy" mountain stages, lots of TT and a very controlled race. Nevertheless, I reckon that I was impressed with his 3 week consistency.
To this years Tour, maybe TvG improves climbing wise but I'm afraid he'll be crushed by Contador, Froome et al. Not that I care much
Anyway, good to see Evans in the Giro again after the epicness of the last time

Frankly what other choice do they have? Evans is clearly over the hill, he's trying to cover it yet he can't, just like Basso and Menchov.
They're over. And BMC is trying to give its best chance of a podium the best support it can. Nothing wrong with it.

 

[icefire]

Evans 2013 = Sastre 2010

 

[trevim]

Frankly what other choice do they have? Evans is clearly over the hill, he's trying to cover it yet he can't, just like Basso and Menchov.
They're over. And BMC is trying to give its best chance of a podium the best support it can. Nothing wrong with it.

I never said it was wrong, just that it can backfire.