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Evans can win Le Tour!

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Oct 29, 2009
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The Hitch said:
http://forum.cyclingnews.com/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=285

15 votes from posters saying that if ANdy Schleck were to have an accident or underperform, Gesink would beat everyone else. THis was before Menchov got taken out, and assuming Nibali rides.

Hitch, how does a poll about the TdF 2011, if Andy and Alberto don't compete, relate to a challenge by Dekker_T to Gallic Ho to substantiate Gallic Ho's claim that "I remember one or two of the Dutch declaring Gesink would have won the Vuelta if he didn't put a hole in his leg"? [bolded]

The sort of retreat from "the Dutch constantly big Gesink up in an unreasonable way" to "one or two made a comment that someone in a genuine contending position before a major race incident might have had a shot if that hadn't happened", an exception that would prove the rule" that might actually score a hit, but hey, who is counting...

Taking Andy out makes that poll a complete hypothetical too.

If my memory serves me well, Gallic Ho was arguing at one point that the Dutch were not in the habit of doing so. I think Gesink was actually the subject too then (vuelta result?), and he was taking on someone Dutch (youngster?) for being an exception. Make of that what you want, my memory isn't what it was these days. Maybe I am misremembering.

But there are the whole of 6 threads with Gesink in the title in the archive, that includes him winning a pro Tour stage, and as far as I can see none of them are started by "the Dutch" here. If there is a case, that's where it rests, as far as I am concerned.

Try any other contender of sorts, or nation's hopeful, and see what happens.
 
Francois the Postman said:
Hitch, how does a poll about the TdF 2011, if Andy and Alberto don't compete, relate to a challenge by Dekker_T to Gallic Ho to substantiate Gallic Ho's claim that "I remember one or two of the Dutch declaring Gesink would have won the Vuelta if he didn't put a hole in his leg"? [bolded]

Your right. I thought Ruben was talking Gesink not being hyped yo for the Tour 2011. I looked back and hes talking about the Vuetla 09. My bad.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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It's odd as in a recent interview Cadel said he would be doing around 20 less race days in a recent Cyclingnews article.

The 2009 world champion estimates that he will reach July with around twenty days less racing in his legs than he did last time around

But from what he has said on Twitter, on his blogs and a recent interview with him that has been put up on the Cycling Central site he has said that he will be starting at Giro de Friuli, Strade Bianche, Tirenno Adriatico, Classics, possibly the Tour of Romandie and Tour of Catalunya.



That is 21 race days there including Romandie. So I guess the dauphine might be getting the flick.

Cadel Evans Interview

Santaromita has been confirmed in the TDF team.
 
Sep 2, 2009
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auscyclefan94 said:
It's odd as in a recent interview Cadel said he would be doing around 20 less race days in a recent Cyclingnews article.



But from what he has said on Twitter, on his blogs and a recent interview with him that has been put up on the Cycling Central site he has said that he will be starting at Giro de Friuli, Strade Bianche, Tirenno Adriatico, Classics, possibly the Tour of Romandie and Tour of Catalunya.



That is 21 race days there including Romandie. So I guess the dauphine might be getting the flick.

Cadel Evans Interview

Santaromita has been confirmed in the TDF team.

Good on him. He tends to go too deep, compared to the other tour contenders, ending up less fresh when the tour kicks off.

But we can't by any means confirm that he will actually skip dauphine right?
 
If he does all of those races and then does nothing through to the Tour, then that is no racing between the start of May and the start of July. Seems like an odd way to prepare for the Tour. I'd imagine that if he's doing Tirreno and Catalunya then heading to the Ardennes, that's a sensible calendar, then Romandie should get the flick as obviously he'd be peaking for the Ardennes and hitting Romandie on the comedown, then he could use the Dauphiné to warm up for the Tour. The usual Evans problem is that he's too much of a competitor, and if he sniffs a chance to win something he will go deep to do so, hurting his chances elsewhere (see Dauphiné '09 for the most obvious example) - however, now that he actually has big wins on his palmarès hopefully he can realise at a race like the Dauphiné that he has bigger fish to fry (though '09 was an unusual set of circumstances with Valverde not being able to ride the Tour so being more focused on the Dauphiné than Evans would have been) and so hit peak form for the Tour.
 
Denkoff said:
Evans looser

Hmm. I don't think he's loose... he's tight. One too many oh's. ;)

But either you meant he's a loser character or a loser racer. I don't think you meant in reference to his character, which would have been a misjudgement. As for racer, lots of guys try to win the big ones and don't succeed. Are they all losers? Lots of guys try and find in the process they could have done things differently and come back later battling. I don't call that a loser. Have you ever tried anything and failed at it? If you haven't, then you haven't pushed yourself. And when you fail does that make you a loser?
 
Aug 12, 2009
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The Hitch said:
Sorry Galic, but wikipedia was not wrong

This is a copy of the wikipedia page on Monte Zoncolan from October 2008 - over 2 years ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monte_Zoncolan&diff=245130851&oldid=245130797


This sentence has been there since 2008 so wikipedia can not have given you wrong information on this subject;)

Funny, I know what I read. I said Wiki because it was the first thing that came to mind that I remember checking. I read a lot of pages about the Giro climbs that day last May, asking me to remember which site specifically had what I said about which side was used in which year...your asking too much. I was wrong and I don't mind being corrected. Don't really care, it's a hill and it has 3 passes. They're all hard. Personally I'd take getting the Giro on free to air TV any day myself, that's far more important.
 
Aug 12, 2009
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La Pandera said:
If one is going to talk up the weak field in the 2010 Giro then it has to be applied both ways. Evans had an impressive stage win in extremely trying conditions on what one could call an Ardennes classics like parcours, only with wet dirt/gravel roads added, but versus a "weak" field of competitors-in comparison to the Vuelta 2010 field. This by the estimation of a few posts here. Of course ultimately Evans was thwarted not by the might of his opponents but by a virus that sapped his strength, leaving him less than his best. Was anyone aware that Basso had a virus during the Tour? I'm just reading about this almost 7 months after the fact. In the course of a grand tour everyone is suffering in some way shape or form, it's just that not everyone (and not all of their fans) offers it up as an excuse for not winning.

I heard something from a commentator about Basso potentially being sick during the second week of last years Tour. They then proceeded to ramble on about the guys higher placed. I'd have like to have heard more about why he wasn't performing but on SBS in Australia, non Aussie GC guys who have a bad run don't get mentioned more than once. The only people who really know how hard it is for one particular rider is the person themself.

Put it this way, if Cadel is fit and well prepped he has as much of a chance as Basso, Samu, Menchov of providing an upset. Mind you he has to not get sick (2010 Giro), crash and fracture and elbow (2010 Tour), lose the plot (2009 Tour) or get tag teamed (2008 Tour) or have a mechanical (2009 Vuelta). Yeah, it is a lot to ask isn't it. Maybe this thread is a dead end?:D
 
Sep 2, 2009
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Libertine Seguros said:
If he does all of those races and then does nothing through to the Tour, then that is no racing between the start of May and the start of July. Seems like an odd way to prepare for the Tour. I'd imagine that if he's doing Tirreno and Catalunya then heading to the Ardennes, that's a sensible calendar, then Romandie should get the flick as obviously he'd be peaking for the Ardennes and hitting Romandie on the comedown, then he could use the Dauphiné to warm up for the Tour. The usual Evans problem is that he's too much of a competitor, and if he sniffs a chance to win something he will go deep to do so, hurting his chances elsewhere (see Dauphiné '09 for the most obvious example) - however, now that he actually has big wins on his palmarès hopefully he can realise at a race like the Dauphiné that he has bigger fish to fry (though '09 was an unusual set of circumstances with Valverde not being able to ride the Tour so being more focused on the Dauphiné than Evans would have been) and so hit peak form for the Tour.

I think Evans should hire you! Indeed it's not the best approach to have an empty schedule spanning from May to July.

only question remains, will he ever learn to soft pedal a bit more in Dauphine? Not that I don't like him for being so competetive, Dauphine 09, as you mention, was great to watch. hopefully he is getting tired of frying the small fish by now.
 
La Pandera said:
If one is going to talk up the weak field in the 2010 Giro then it has to be applied both ways. Evans had an impressive stage win in extremely trying conditions on what one could call an Ardennes classics like parcours, only with wet dirt/gravel roads added, but versus a "weak" field of competitors-in comparison to the Vuelta 2010 field. This by the estimation of a few posts here. Of course ultimately Evans was thwarted not by the might of his opponents but by a virus that sapped his strength, leaving him less than his best. Was anyone aware that Basso had a virus during the Tour? I'm just reading about this almost 7 months after the fact. In the course of a grand tour everyone is suffering in some way shape or form, it's just that not everyone (and not all of their fans) offers it up as an excuse for not winning.
The difference being that no-one claims that Basso was anywhere near his best shape in the Tour. He's not autobus material, although he did alright in the first couple of mountain stages, I don't think he was too far off his top form then. And yes, I knew that he got some kind of food poisoning or whatever midway through the Tour.
 
Jan 27, 2011
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No way Basso was on top form, otherwise he couldve actually tried something on Avoriaz or the Madeleine. Shame if its true that he had a food poisoning. :(
 
La Pandera said:
Of course ultimately Evans was thwarted not by the might of his opponents but by a virus that sapped his strength, leaving him less than his best. Was anyone aware that Basso had a virus during the Tour? I'm just reading about this almost 7 months after the fact. In the course of a grand tour everyone is suffering in some way shape or form, it's just that not everyone (and not all of their fans) offers it up as an excuse for not winning.
Evans suffered an elbow injury in a crash at the Tour last year (but he definitely wasn't on his own in that regard). It was 2009 when he was troubled by a virus.

As for Basso, he finished in the grupetto on the stage to Pau due to the effects of the virus that you mentioned. There was doubt at the time that he'd even make it to Paris.
 
Jul 18, 2010
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valentius borealis said:
Evans suffered an elbow injury in a crash at the Tour last year (but he definitely wasn't on his own in that regard). It was 2009 when he was troubled by a virus.

As for Basso, he finished in the grupetto on the stage to Pau due to the effects of the virus that you mentioned. There was doubt at the time that he'd even make it to Paris.

I should have been more clear. My reference to Evans' virus was during this year's Giro and is the reason many have given for his not winning. I and everyone else are likely aware of Evans' elbow injury in this year's Tour and his valiant struggle to finish the race inspite of it.
 
La Pandera said:
I should have been more clear. My reference to Evans' virus was during this year's Giro and is the reason many have given for his not winning. I and everyone else are likely aware of Evans' elbow injury in this year's Tour and his valiant struggle to finish the race inspite of it.
Of course. That virus went through both the BMC and Astana teams, and forced a number of riders to abandon.
 
Jul 27, 2009
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Moondance said:
Reasons why Cadel will not win le Tour:

1. Andy Schleck
2. That is all...

Both will be battling for second, seriously I think both riders have a mental hurdle to overcome to win the tour. On form they should be the No. 1 contenders, and that's their problem.

If Contador is not there then Basso will win. Hell, I'd almost say Ricco would win before Andy Schleck.
 
Jan 11, 2011
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http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-rates-schleck-and-basso-as-top-tour-de-france-rivals

He makes some fairly clear quotes in this article that support what many have discussed in this thread regarding his past racing schedules and penchant for trying to win when he gets a 'sniff'. It seems that at lotto especially, it was a mix of his natural approach to 'race to win' and pressure from the team for him to race and win at smaller races. I mean lets face it, as soon as Mcewen left (and he had been plagued by form/injury issues for awhile before that if my memory serves me right), Lotto really had no-one but Cadel to give there sponsors or fans anything to cheer. He was their only card for a few years until Gilbert later on and then JVB much later on just before cadel left. He should have left that team at least 2 seasons earlier. Redant and Sargeant must be close to mentally ***. They always promised much and NEVER delivered as far as extra support for Cadel. They tried to juggle too many balls without enough hands and still found a way to imply fault on Evans when he couldn't deliver. They never fully committed. Evan's career suffered in the later years at lotto. They were only a good fit earlier on when they gave him the chance he had been denied at other teams.

Anyway. I like the race-hard-all-year approach. How many guys do you see doing that? Everyone gets so caught up with winning the tour/s. But Evans loves racing. He is a professional cyclist. It is good to see someone who can't help trying to win. But if he wants even a chance of winning a GT he needs to curtail that impulse. Looks like he is attempting that this year. It could well be far too late though... I hope not.
 
eatyourvitamins said:
Redant and Sargeant must be close to mentally ***. They always promised much and NEVER delivered as far as extra support for Cadel. They tried to juggle too many balls without enough hands and still found a way to imply fault on Evans when he couldn't deliver. They never fully committed.
That's what the Aussie media would like us to believe, but when you look at the facts... VDB, Horner, Popovych, Aerts, Vansummeren all rode in support of Evans at Lotto. All of them have done better when Evans was not on their team. Why is that? Is it because they temporarily lost their talent, or could it have something to do with lack of motivation to ride for a difficult character like Evans? There's always two sides of the coin. Sergeant may have been a little naive when he signed Kohl and Dekker, but don't say he didn't commit when he signed a TdF podium finisher and one of the biggest stage racing talents to support Evans.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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eatyourvitamins said:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-rates-schleck-and-basso-as-top-tour-de-france-rivals

He makes some fairly clear quotes in this article that support what many have discussed in this thread regarding his past racing schedules and penchant for trying to win when he gets a 'sniff'. It seems that at lotto especially, it was a mix of his natural approach to 'race to win' and pressure from the team for him to race and win at smaller races. I mean lets face it, as soon as Mcewen left (and he had been plagued by form/injury issues for awhile before that if my memory serves me right), Lotto really had no-one but Cadel to give there sponsors or fans anything to cheer. He was their only card for a few years until Gilbert later on and then JVB much later on just before cadel left. He should have left that team at least 2 seasons earlier. Redant and Sargeant must be close to mentally ***. They always promised much and NEVER delivered as far as extra support for Cadel. They tried to juggle too many balls without enough hands and still found a way to imply fault on Evans when he couldn't deliver. They never fully committed. Evan's career suffered in the later years at lotto. They were only a good fit earlier on when they gave him the chance he had been denied at other teams.

Anyway. I like the race-hard-all-year approach. How many guys do you see doing that? Everyone gets so caught up with winning the tour/s. But Evans loves racing. He is a professional cyclist. It is good to see someone who can't help trying to win. But if he wants even a chance of winning a GT he needs to curtail that impulse. Looks like he is attempting that this year. It could well be far too late though... I hope not.

Damiani , Sergaent and Coucke are the real retards. redant was one of the more 'sane' ones.
 

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