Many people have already questioned Cadel's future as a rider and that he should focus on the classics. What do people think he should do for the rest of his career?
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Evans' Future
- Thread starter auscyclefan94
- Start date
Rest of his career?auscyclefan94 said:
You're saying it as if he's going to quit right away.
He's 33 years old. Peak years in cyclist's career. Still has five or six years ahead of him.
As to what to do next -- i say -- keep going the same way you did so far!
Sastre's example shows that those who work hard eventually get their reward.
And don't listen to anybody -- don't cut the jerkish attitude - i like you more that way.
________
Roll Blunts
rxgqgxnyfz said:
I guess your right. I was annoyed to hear that Phillip Gones had written off Evans off so easily.
Focus on 1 GC and add some classics. Or do 2 GC, there is nothing wrong with coming second in a GC, even top 5 is nice (podium is nicer). If he plans it well he may even win the Vuelta.
I think he's been doing well so far, not winning any GT isn't particularly bad, only 3 guys can win in a year and it's often the same guys.
I think he's been doing well so far, not winning any GT isn't particularly bad, only 3 guys can win in a year and it's often the same guys.
He should stop trying to win the Tour de France. At this point in his career, and with the competition now at the race, he now longer has a legitimate shot of winning. He should focus on the classics and either the Giro or Vuelta, or both.
ericthesportsman6 said:
His BMC team has been quite good for this tour but Astana has been better. I realise its BMC's first big year and they will get better.
Agree he should try and win the Giro or Vuelta next year. But needs a full strength team. While he got sick in Giro, not having a strong team cost him more IMHO.
As an Aussie, I am very proud of his rides this year and what he has done the last two days has been superb givin his injury.
Hugh
rxgqgxnyfz said:
Agreed. I don't know why some people act as if Evans is such a mediocre cyclist, plenty of riders would give their yellow Mavic shoes for his palmares.
He's had a fantastic year and shown that he's a contender for the hilly classics as well as the GTs (and shorter stage races, e.g. Tirreno) so he should keep doing what he's been doing. I'm also loving this new nice, friendly Evans who keeps being interviewed.
As for giving up on the TdF, while Contador's around it seems likely that everyone's gonna be racing for second place. Evans is as capable of that as anyone.
Agree with Hugh, he could have seriously challenged at the Giro had the team not been compelled to send some of their major players to California. BMC are gettting stronger all the time.
Lyds97 said:
I think he has a better chance of continuing to be successful in the 1-day races, the World Championships, and the other GTs. Schleck is 24 and Contador is 27--if they stay healthy, the TdF will likely come down to them for the next few years.
To be honest, Cadel's future is entirely up to him, how he prepares and the team he has available around him. He is showing he has the skills to be a Classics rider and winner. He is also a very capable Grand Tour contender, but I don't think he will win one - podium is not out of the question though. A shorter tour (ToC, TdS) may be better options than a Grand Tour.
Either way, he is proving to be a very capable rider in elite company, and its a shame that his Tour is effectively over just after it looked so promising.
Either way, he is proving to be a very capable rider in elite company, and its a shame that his Tour is effectively over just after it looked so promising.
hughmoore said:
Wow I am so sick of Cuddles fans blaming his near wins on his team. In the end, it's no excuse. In the end, the race comes down to each guy by himself, and Cadel just hasn't been good enough.
Cycloid said:
I agree. I don't think I have ever been moved by the performance last night. Simply amazing.
while I may hope he gets into a large 17min breakaway in the following week like he missed in the Giro, I realise he's toast for this year's tour.
BMC look to be recruiting well in Moinard and if they can pick up Spartacus, then even better. I doubt Cuddles has the firepower to win the Tour in the next few years, but I'd love to see him take the Giro and/or the Vuelta. Some classics as well as something like the Dauphine are still well within reach for him...
BMC look to be recruiting well in Moinard and if they can pick up Spartacus, then even better. I doubt Cuddles has the firepower to win the Tour in the next few years, but I'd love to see him take the Giro and/or the Vuelta. Some classics as well as something like the Dauphine are still well within reach for him...
Those who would argue that Cadel Evans should stop trying to peak for the Tour conveniently ignore the fact that he is a professional and the Tour is what matters to fans and sponsors. Cadel's Worlds and Fleche Wallone wins were great, and they went a long way towards making me a Cadel Evans fan. But, like a lot of posters on this forum, I suspect, I'm the sort of cycling fan who makes excuses to cancel a family holiday when he hears that there might be a webcast of the Ster Elektrotoer--which is probably the most garbage of all garbarge stage races.
In media market terms, there aren't too many fans like us. People know who Cadel Evans is because he's a Tour podium-finisher and perennial contender. If he can continue to add Classic victories on the side, then good for him and I'll look forward to seeing some more gutsy rides.
In media market terms, there aren't too many fans like us. People know who Cadel Evans is because he's a Tour podium-finisher and perennial contender. If he can continue to add Classic victories on the side, then good for him and I'll look forward to seeing some more gutsy rides.
I really want to see Cadel win a gt but unfortunately Cadel does not have 5 or 6 years ahead of him as 1 poster claimed. By 35 riders have lost a lot of their endurance and talent and gts will be out of the question. Thats 2 years from now. Every year after that performance will decrease exponentialy.
It is clear that without, ahem, makor risks being taken, cadel will not win the tdf, which is a shame, though if he can get 1 more 2nd he can be an australian raymond poulidor, especially since his performances depend so much on grit and determination.
Still i think cadel should focus on the giro and vuelta, especially since he has come so close. He shouldnt have gone to the tour this year, but being with bmc he had no choice.
Basso might not do giro next year, but unfortunately contador will so its stupid to even attempt that. Maybe cuddles should pull out of the tour today and go for the vuelta. Whose gonna challenge him there? Most of the favourites are doing well at the tour right now so will be tired. Val piti is on the naughty step. Nibali wont beat cuddles without szmyd and basso. Ricco wont have a good team if he goes for it. Who am i missing.
But i doubt he will do that so it looks like its a 14 month wait for the vuelta 2011. and after that, a last dance at the tour in 2012.
edit: cadel if you are reading this, Pull out of the tour. You have a good excuse- fractured arm. BMC will be happy for the publicity given anyhow.
It is clear that without, ahem, makor risks being taken, cadel will not win the tdf, which is a shame, though if he can get 1 more 2nd he can be an australian raymond poulidor, especially since his performances depend so much on grit and determination.
Still i think cadel should focus on the giro and vuelta, especially since he has come so close. He shouldnt have gone to the tour this year, but being with bmc he had no choice.
Basso might not do giro next year, but unfortunately contador will so its stupid to even attempt that. Maybe cuddles should pull out of the tour today and go for the vuelta. Whose gonna challenge him there? Most of the favourites are doing well at the tour right now so will be tired. Val piti is on the naughty step. Nibali wont beat cuddles without szmyd and basso. Ricco wont have a good team if he goes for it. Who am i missing.
But i doubt he will do that so it looks like its a 14 month wait for the vuelta 2011. and after that, a last dance at the tour in 2012.
edit: cadel if you are reading this, Pull out of the tour. You have a good excuse- fractured arm. BMC will be happy for the publicity given anyhow.
I think Evans should start to look to the classics, especially if you look where he's had three of the biggest victories in his career over the last 9 months or so (Worlds, Fleche and a classic-esque Giro stage).
If you just look at Evans too, short, stocky with thick, tree-trunk legs, he's totally different than guys like Contador, Schleck and future GC contenders like Roman Kreuziger and Robert Gesink, who are all wiry and lanky. Evans shouldn't be able to compete with those guys in the high mountains, and the fact that for years he was able to do so very successfully for many years is an incredible testament to his strength and ability to suffer and hold on. But with the likes of Contador, Schleck et al. having reached or reaching their peak, the TdF is, sadly, no longer a realistic goal for Evans. He could still be a major force though in the classics for the next 3 years or so, where his strength, durability and experience will count for far more.
If he's really dead set on a GT victory I think he could always try to target next year's Vuelta like Hitch said, and skip the Tour (and Giro) entirely, he might have a good chance since Bertie for sure wont be there and Valv-Piti will still be banned.
If you just look at Evans too, short, stocky with thick, tree-trunk legs, he's totally different than guys like Contador, Schleck and future GC contenders like Roman Kreuziger and Robert Gesink, who are all wiry and lanky. Evans shouldn't be able to compete with those guys in the high mountains, and the fact that for years he was able to do so very successfully for many years is an incredible testament to his strength and ability to suffer and hold on. But with the likes of Contador, Schleck et al. having reached or reaching their peak, the TdF is, sadly, no longer a realistic goal for Evans. He could still be a major force though in the classics for the next 3 years or so, where his strength, durability and experience will count for far more.
If he's really dead set on a GT victory I think he could always try to target next year's Vuelta like Hitch said, and skip the Tour (and Giro) entirely, he might have a good chance since Bertie for sure wont be there and Valv-Piti will still be banned.
Benotti69 said:
Especially the cute, cuddly and very small broken animals that have been stepped on.
repeat 10 times - **evans can win the TdF**
he's come so close twice and was looking good this year until the elbow injury. the guy finished 5th at the Giro despite illness.
he is a top level rider on a par with contador and schleck, but has a lot of bad luck. the cause of that bad luck is a matter of conjecture - arguably you make your own - but that is a surmountable problem and his move to BMC is a strong step forward in that regard.
personally i think he should go for the Giro-TdF double again next year.
he's come so close twice and was looking good this year until the elbow injury. the guy finished 5th at the Giro despite illness.
he is a top level rider on a par with contador and schleck, but has a lot of bad luck. the cause of that bad luck is a matter of conjecture - arguably you make your own - but that is a surmountable problem and his move to BMC is a strong step forward in that regard.
personally i think he should go for the Giro-TdF double again next year.
I think maybe it's time for his major focus to be the Giro and Vuelta.
He raced the Giro this year, but his season wasn't exactly built around it.
I think for a cyclist of his quality, a Grand Tour is just reward. And the Giro and Vuelta are his best chance of that. Really, the 2008 tour was his for the losing...and he lost it!
He raced the Giro this year, but his season wasn't exactly built around it.
I think for a cyclist of his quality, a Grand Tour is just reward. And the Giro and Vuelta are his best chance of that. Really, the 2008 tour was his for the losing...and he lost it!
Classics. He can do cobbles (Stage 3 Tour), bumpy parcours (WCs '09, Flèche) and crap weather (Stage 7 Giro).
The Evans successes that I can remember best are isolated performances pulled off with individual virtuosity rather than team-backed, solid GC performances (of which there are regrettably few). We were all happier - ACF included, I daresay - when he was ripping it up in late spring.
And I cannot, after his GT results this year, stand the idea of watching him go through it all again next year. He has honoured the rainbow jersey but he needs to hurry up and honour himself before his best days are past him.
The Evans successes that I can remember best are isolated performances pulled off with individual virtuosity rather than team-backed, solid GC performances (of which there are regrettably few). We were all happier - ACF included, I daresay - when he was ripping it up in late spring.
And I cannot, after his GT results this year, stand the idea of watching him go through it all again next year. He has honoured the rainbow jersey but he needs to hurry up and honour himself before his best days are past him.
delbified said:
Some of the greatest GT riders in the history of cycling would have trouble with this feat, and yet you think a guy who's never even won a GT could. Also, Cadel Evans hasn't never won the tour because of "bad luck." Even at his very best- he can't climb with AC or AS, and he's a worse TT'er than Contador. The only way Evans could win the tour in the foreseeable future is if Contador went down with an injury, and even then there would still be 4 or 5 other guys I would pick first. This season and the last have been highlighted by his success at the world championships and Fleche Wallone, and then blocked out by bombing at the Tour de France. He should focus on the classics, and try to win a more manageable GT, like the Vuelta, before his career ends and he's only finished on podiums. Face the facts, he's 33, the tour field is continually getting stronger. Cadel missed his chance to win the Tour a few years back.
In the interim, he needs to go back to Holland and pick up his team-mates that are still stuck there from the Giro.
He should insist on the Vuelta, The GT most suitable to his characteristics, and lest contested by the top guns.
He tried that last year. And failed.oronet commander said:
I think Evans discovered himself as a classics rider this season. And I hope he'll proceed from there, because he could be a favourite for all three Ardennes classics and Lombardy. Even the one stage in the Giro where he was really strong was sort of a classic.
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