Evans is a winner, just the big one is f***ing hard

[veganrob]

Even in the past the champions, because they were champions, were able to establish their dominance on some critical moment of the race, when such a show of strength was simply demanded to become the winner.

I don't believe in superhuman, though you need to come through with the goods a times or else you get second, or third place.

Totally agree. One has to create the defining moment, not follow around hoping for it to happen.
Like my mom said" Faint heart never won fair maiden".

 

[biopass]

Totally agree. One has to create the defining moment, not follow around hoping for it to happen.
Like my mom said" Faint heart never won fair maiden".

Didnt Evans show he could create the defining moment at T-A?

 

[Wallace]

Evans lost to Sastre because Sastre had the best team in the race and Evans had no support at all in the mountains. Lotto brought in Poppo (and let Horner go: terrible decision) to help him, and suddenly Euroslob forgot how to ride uphill. Every time the race tilted upwards the least bit, Cadel was alone. It is kind of a team sport.

The sad thing about Evans is that he's never had the team support needed to win a GT. Maybe this year will be different.

Obviously, given everything that goes on in cycling it's impossible to say with any certainty that any rider is clean, but with Cadel there's at least the possibility that he is. I'd be surprised if he dopes--not bang my head against the wall give up paying any attention to this horrible fiasco that calls itself a sport surprised, but a bit disappointed.

 

[Ferminal]

Evans lost to Sastre because Sastre had the best team in the race and Evans had no support at all in the mountains. Lotto brought in Poppo (and let Horner go: terrible decision) to help him, and suddenly Euroslob forgot how to ride uphill. Every time the race tilted upwards the least bit, Cadel was alone. It is kind of a team sport.

The sad thing about Evans is that he's never had the team support needed to win a GT. Maybe this year will be different.

There are very few domestiques in the world who could have helped Evans on the Alpe, and neither Popo or Horner in their peak form were one of them. Vansummeren (+ 1 more, maybe Aerts?) road brilliantly that day to be with Evans all the way until the lower slopes of Alpe D'Huez.

Horner and Popo were too far off the pace of the best climbers in 2007 (they couldn't have helped Evans on Plateau de Beille or Aubisque), so why would it be any different in 2008.

Between 2007-2008 was there anyone Silence Lotto could have actually signed to be their "Frank Schleck"? CVV swapped teams that year, but no one could have predicted he would climb as well as he did.

 

[Benotti69]

That would apply for ANY clean rider through the 90's and 2000's.

Bassons rode for Festina, Moncoutie rode for cofidis, etc.

the thing with Bassons is his team mates disowned him for not doping.

Moncoutie is well known not to put anything in not even a vitamin tablet.

Evans has been involved with a lot of 'bad history' team and people. he is riding for the people that ran Phonak and they had Tyler and Landis to name 2 caught for doping.

I hope he rides clean, but he has 'aligned' himself to some dodgy teams and people

 

[forty four]

People have short memories. Now that Sastre is old and kinda average they forget his impressive record up to June 2009.

sastre gets treated like **** for some reason though hes quite consitent in gt's. classy rider well spoken generally get no respect though.

 

[xmoonx]

Didnt Evans show he could create the defining moment at T-A?

I am NOT so sure he did; Nibali and Scarponis stand off (i still don't know what that was about) in stage 6 enabled Evans to take the win. Not saying Evans wouldn't have won it back in the tt (he is better than Scarponi), but it's also possible Scarponi let the win (both stage and GC) slide away.

 

[Angliru]

Nah you're wrong, the other two tours are 2nd place he wants the big podium step. Unless you can "buy" a team you cannot just place yourself on a team, Jan did it by being german, Lance by being American. There has been no big Australian sponser to fund an Aussie "hero".
He can make the leap from 2nd place in the only tour that gets you remembered in a non cycling country like Australia, or in the world outside cycling for that matter. And i reckon that is a big leap from 2nd to 1st in the TDF.
He has not got many shots left but he will do it, the peloton is getting cleaner & he has a good team, maybe not great but good. Most tour winners need a bit of luck in the 3 weeks.
He has the determination, experience (he's been winning world class races for 20 years) & he has a good enough team. A couple of good rolls of the dice & he will be standing on the top step in Paris.

Sorry to bust your bubble, but it's just not going to happen and your argument that he hasn't won the Tour because he's Australian and there is no Australian sponsored team is bs. LeMond won the Tour on French teams. Contador won the Tour on and American team and a Kazakh team. Evans has issues beyond being Australian. His "chaperone" in the mountains for a time while he was with Lotto, Mario Aerts is quoted from the latest Pro Cycling magazine in an article about Jurgen Van Den Broeck in comparing the two riders:

"Cadel left at the right time because he was stressing himself and stressing the team. Rooming with him at the Tour was quite a nervous experience. I never knew what I could and couldn't say. I used to be afraid that if I mentioned the race, he'd lie awake all night thinking about it. With Jurgen, I don't have that. With him, the more you talk about the race, the happier he is."
Aerts reveals that Evans eccentricities weren't confined to the team hotel, either. "In the race he would he would pick another GC guy in the morning of every stage and want to follow him all day. He never announced that this was his strategy but after awhile, I figured it out. He'd get you to ride up to whoever the guy was on that particular day and then say "Stop!"... (Excerpt from the Pro Cycling article by Daniel Friebe)

In the week long stage races he can maintain his composure but when the grand tours roll around he always in some way makes some tactical error and/or simply implodes and buckles under the pressure. His fragile sensibilities seem to get the best of him over the course of 3 weeks.

 

[Angliru]

Evans lost to Sastre because Sastre had the best team in the race and Evans had no support at all in the mountains. Lotto brought in Poppo (and let Horner go: terrible decision) to help him, and suddenly Euroslob forgot how to ride uphill. Every time the race tilted upwards the least bit, Cadel was alone. It is kind of a team sport.

The sad thing about Evans is that he's never had the team support needed to win a GT. Maybe this year will be different.

Obviously, given everything that goes on in cycling it's impossible to say with any certainty that any rider is clean, but with Cadel there's at least the possibility that he is. I'd be surprised if he dopes--not bang my head against the wall give up paying any attention to this horrible fiasco that calls itself a sport surprised, but a bit disappointed.

The year's change but Evans' plight remains the same. Is this a perpetual problem of his own making? Is it that he is too much of a loner to endear devoted and dedicated support from his team? He obviously has personality quirks that don't necessarily lead one to have the utmost confidence in his abilities to handle the pressures of the Tour.

 

[Angliru]

Didnt Evans show he could create the defining moment at T-A?

T-A ain't the Tour.

 

[eljimberino]

Yes. He followed Vino in the Giro last year, but that backfired.

 

[9000ft]

Many here in the clinic and CN forums denigrate Evans because they don't like his voice, or his physical appearance, or his choice in pets. They also knock him because he races like he's clean and the only thing worse than a doper is someone who is dull.

 

[Angliru]

Many here in the clinic and CN forums denigrate Evans because they don't like his voice, or his physical appearance, or his choice in pets. They also knock him because he races like he's clean and the only thing worse than a doper is someone who is dull.

How does a clean rider race opposed to one who isn't? There have been "dirty" riders that really weren't all that impressive or exciting. In Evans' case he has been both dull at times and exciting. So which one is he based on your theory? Francisco Mancebo could never be described as beautiful to behold on a bike nor was he especially exciting in terms of his style of racing.Yet he isn't exactly a member of the All Pure Team is he?

The Aerts' quote only confirms what many here could only speculate on based on our observations.

 

[biopass]

T-A ain't the Tour.

Who said anything about T-A being the tour?

 

[ak-zaaf]

sastre gets treated like **** for some reason though hes quite consitent in gt's. classy rider well spoken generally get no respect though.

Idd, Sastre got his entire win in 1 stage and IIRC Sastre was the first of the GC contenders to attack on Huez. Menchov tried to follow but cracked.
Evans stayed in the Schleck group...
Doesn't really sound like teamed up to me, more like the best rider won.
And everybody is a little sick at the end of a GT.

 

[Angliru]

Who said anything about T-A being the tour?

Creating the defining moment at T-A isn't comparable to doing the same at the Tour, which Evans hasn't shown the ability to do, thus my statement. His opportunity to do that in the final ITT at the 2008 Tour was missed, but was another that Sastre seized upon to punctuate his overall win.

Let me say that I agree with the topic of this thread nonetheless.

 

[biopass]

Creating the defining moment at T-A isn't comparable to doing the same at the Tour, which Evans hasn't shown the ability to do, thus my statement.

Oh i get it. A defining moment like Schleck messing with his chain. Your right, Evans is fair play.

 

[Von Mises]

The year's change but Evans' plight remains the same. Is this a perpetual problem of his own making? Is it that he is too much of a loner to endear devoted and dedicated support from his team? He obviously has personality quirks that don't necessarily lead one to have the utmost confidence in his abilities to handle the pressures of the Tour.

Evans reminds me Robert Millar, who had also many issues with media, public and other riders, who was conidered weird with his own personality quirks. Years later view has changed somewhat, instead of "weird", people say "interesting".

I pity Evans sometimes. He seems (and many share this view) that he may be the most naturaly gifted talent of his generation, but his own flaws, personality quirsk, poor tactical choices have let him down.

 

[El Pistolero]

Sorry to bust your bubble, but it's just not going to happen and your argument that he hasn't won the Tour because he's Australian and there is no Australian sponsored team is bs. LeMond won the Tour on French teams. Contador won the Tour on and American team and a Kazakh team. Evans has issues beyond being Australian. His "chaperone" in the mountains for a time while he was with Lotto, Mario Aerts is quoted from the latest Pro Cycling magazine in an article about Jurgen Van Den Broeck in comparing the two riders:

"Cadel left at the right time because he was stressing himself and stressing the team. Rooming with him at the Tour was quite a nervous experience. I never knew what I could and couldn't say. I used to be afraid that if I mentioned the race, he'd lie awake all night thinking about it. With Jurgen, I don't have that. With him, the more you talk about the race, the happier he is."
Aerts reveals that Evans eccentricities weren't confined to the team hotel, either. "In the race he would he would pick another GC guy in the morning of every stage and want to follow him all day. He never announced that this was his strategy but after awhile, I figured it out. He'd get you to ride up to whoever the guy was on that particular day and then say "Stop!"... (Excerpt from the Pro Cycling article by Daniel Friebe)

In the week long stage races he can maintain his composure but when the grand tours roll around he always in some way makes some tactical error and/or simply implodes and buckles under the pressure. His fragile sensibilities seem to get the best of him over the course of 3 weeks.

That's just creepy.

 

[biopass]

Creating the defining moment at T-A isn't comparable to doing the same at the Tour, which Evans hasn't shown the ability to do, thus my statement. His opportunity to do that in the final ITT at the 2008 Tour was missed, but was another that Sastre seized upon to punctuate his overall win.

Let me say that I agree with the topic of this thread nonetheless.

In that case, same thing applies to Andy.

 

[D-Queued]

Many here in the clinic and CN forums denigrate Evans because they don't like his voice, or his physical appearance, or his choice in pets. They also knock him because he races like he's clean and the only thing worse than a doper is someone who is dull.

Honestly, he is absolutely one of my favorites.

Especially when he does the 'roid rage imitations (can't be the real thing) during the press huddle after a stage.

Races like he is clean, and acts like he is on the stuff. Not dull at all.

Dave.

 

[BroDeal]

Evans reminds me Robert Millar, who had also many issues with media, public and other riders, who was conidered weird with his own personality quirks. Years later view has changed somewhat, instead of "weird", people say "interesting".

ACF will freak if Evans exchanges his musette for a purse.

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Angliru's assesment of Cuddles falls in line with what I've heard about him from friends who have raced for/against him.

Whether he's clean or not is not the point for this discussion. How he crushed the competition the other day at T-A is. That was awesome. Great win!

But, none of that was dictated by him. He had been drawn up to that point by his teammates, and then had the race accumen to take advantage of a couple of 'winners' who thought they had it in the bag - within a couple hundred metres of the line.

A few hundred metres does not a GT winner make. That's gotta be a daily event.

Cuddles has to figure out to win, not how to 'not lose'. That's a small, yet profound, difference.

 

[veganrob]

Didnt Evans show he could create the defining moment at T-A?

I don't think I would call it that. He waited behind Nibali and Scarponi who killed each other and luckily had the move left to go for the win. Hindsight 20-20 on that one. And besides, it was T-A, not the Tour. Not to take anything away from him. What I want to see Cadel do is force the action. Make the others respond to his attacks.

 

[TubularBills]

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/MG_sportnieuws/MG_wielrennen/1.764322

A year ago he did, after all, serve up some *** 'meat' to AC, as in watch mine.

An epic win, to rival this year's Tirreno-Adriatico win.

Tenacity and persistence are two words that come to mind.

When, he wins, he wins with authority.