Angliru said:Is it mental or physical? I ask because first you say its one and then the other.
He's obviously quite talented and capable of winning a grand tour and one of the Ardennes classics.n
Well I think it's a bit of both, though I don't agree at all that it's obvious that he can win a Grand Tour. In fact, quite the opposite. Look to win the Giro, for example, you've got to be the best climber in the race hands down and Cadel isn't. To win the Tour you have to be the best time trialist and among the top three climbers, or the hands down best climber and I'd say top five time trialist (especially on the last time trial, which is unusual because it's when the race is almost over and everbody's tired and thus doesn't favor a specialist as much). Here I'd put Cadel as a top five climber and a second or third best time trialist. Not a winning combination. When all goes well second or third is the result, if it goes less well fourth or fifth or lower. That's on the physical side.
On the mental side Evans suffers. Because last year, without (and I stress this) any super champions, he had his best and probably only chance at winning the Tour: but blew it. I mean fer chrisssake, you can't get dropped by Sastre and loose that much time on Alpe d'Huez! Somebody in the Aussie's position that falls short there, doesn't deserve to win the Tour. Given his ability and given that of his rival, I can only conclude that it was a mental weakness: i.e. pooooooped your pants.