Evans's change of approach

[The Hitch]

Im willing to forgive Cuddles for focusing just on the Tour this year because in 09 he did Tour Vuellta Worlds and last year he did pretty much everything bar Vuelta.

Even though the Tour doesnt suit him what definately does suit him is that AC might not ride and menchov doesnt ride.

In AC he had someone who was both better than him in mountains and tts and hence had no chance. In AS and Basso he has people who can beat him in mountains and thats ok, because he can beat the in the itt. Theres Samu who might be equal or better than him in both but its still a whole lot better than The Great one against who he has no chance.

There is of course the ttt and i really hope Leppard fail because i really think its overkill for Schleck to do nothing all year, go into the Tour as the favourite and on top of that have the best team in the ttt. Andrew will likely have a 1 -2 minute lead after the ttt and so then Cuddles is screwed anyway as the itt is too short.

What pricklet doesnt want is for people to contest stages other than the mountian top finishes (soft pedal everything else) and i hope Cuddles is one of the ones to contest the other stages.

 

[The Hitch]

duarte will murder evans in every way in catalunya

Why are you so pro Colombian riders btw?

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Having a lighter schedule won't transform Evans into one of the best climbers. I'll eat my own cycling shirts if he even podiumns this course. 5th or 6th.

 

[M Sport]

Seeing there was a thread started about Basso's more "aggressive" approach this year, I thought I'd refer to Evans coming in a bit more low key.

Any thoughts on him coming into the Tour less tired will help his chances at podium?

He has a chance at a podium spot, just not the top one. Everyone is battling for second and third now that Contador is a starter.

I seriously think this is Evans' last chance at a podium though.

 

[SoNiK4]

He has a chance at a podium spot, just not the top one. Everyone is battling for second and third now that Contador is a starter.

I seriously think this is Evans' last chance at a podium though.

This is pretty much what I feel as well, that if all the stars align for him, he may just creep onto the podium. Agreed that this is probably his last year to do it.

Regardless, I hope he gives them hell and helps to animate the Tour a bit.

 

[Ferminal]

I think it is a good thing though the Cycling news article is an old one.
His program is

Giro Del Friuli
Monte Paschi Eroica
Tirenno Adriatico
Catalunya
Pais Vasco
Amstel
Fleche
Romandie
Dauphine

It's hardly a "reduced program", just seems like a bit of spin to me. Of course it's reduced compared to 2010, but still rather similar to the years before that. Maybe he will be taking things "easier" than previous years, but I doubt that. Also if he completes all those stage races he will be closer to 40 race days... (who has seen Cuddles DNF a stage race?)

He still might do LBL though? It seems to be form dependent that one, if he's thereabouts in AGR/F-W then stick around for L-B-L. Maybe it's too close to Romandie, but you would still prefer Liege to Romandie.

So say 40 up to July... +21 for Tour, +21 for Vuelta, +3-4 for end of season one dayers. That would put him at 80-90 days for the season, which is more than the average big name contender.

 

[Sasquatch]

duarte will murder evans in every way in catalunya

Agreed! Evans will have no answer to the Colombian.

 

[Sasquatch]

Having a lighter schedule won't transform Evans into one of the best climbers. I'll eat my own cycling shirts if he even podiumns this course. 5th or 6th.

Seeing Evans fail his goals is better than sex and a head job. So I hope you are right.

 

[kurtinsc]

Having a lighter schedule won't transform Evans into one of the best climbers. I'll eat my own cycling shirts if he even podiumns this course. 5th or 6th.

He's a pretty darn good climber without being transformed.

I'm not a huge cuddles fan, but the guy goes up hill pretty well. He finished in the contender group on Terminillo in the Giro last year, finished with Basso on stage 14, 2nd only to Basso on Zoncolan, 2nd in the climbing ITT, and even fading from trying to carry form for too long managed 6th on Aprica.

Basso was the dominant climber in the Giro last year, but I honestly didn't see Evans as being much different then Nibali going up hill. He lost form at the end, but overall I think he was the 2nd best climber in that race. He's behind Andy, Alberto and Basso... but I'd give him a shot climbing with anyone else.

 

[2beeDammed]

Seeing Evans fail his goals is better than sex and a head job. So I hope you are right.

so I take it your not getting much you know how they say the loudest one is the one that gets out the least

 

[Sasquatch]

Why are you so pro Colombian riders btw?

Colombian riders are the next big thing in cycling. We had Spanish domination the last few years. Now it's going to be Colombian domination in a couple years time.

Fabio Duarte
Gregeory Brenes
Eduard Beltran

Plus the Colombians already in the mix such as Soler (if he stops crashing).

Cycling is booming in that area of the world.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

He's a pretty darn good climber without being transformed.

I'm not a huge cuddles fan, but the guy goes up hill pretty well. He finished in the contender group on Terminillo in the Giro last year, finished with Basso on stage 14, 2nd only to Basso on Zoncolan, 2nd in the climbing ITT, and even fading from trying to carry form for too long managed 6th on Aprica.

Basso was the dominant climber in the Giro last year, but I honestly didn't see Evans as being much different then Nibali going up hill. He lost form at the end, but overall I think he was the 2nd best climber in that race. He's behind Andy, Alberto and Basso... but I'd give him a shot climbing with anyone else.

Although the Giro had an epic hard course, it was not exactly the greatest climber field I've seen.

At the tour Schleck, Samu, Basso, Gesink, AC (although if he riders the giro, I discount him) etc are all better climbers then evans.
He might, and probably will beat one or even two of them on the GC, but he just isn't a good enough climber to win it. Never has been, never will be.

Can you ever remember saying to yourself, hhmmm I think evans will rip it up on the mountains today?
I certainly can't.

Fantastic all round rider, Probably the most versatile GC contender there is. But lacks it in the mountains, and his TT is not what it used to be. 08' will be as close as he gets.

@sasquatch
mark my words; Colombians wont dominate cycling. A few of there riders might become big shots, but I disagree with this hype-train. that colombia is supposedly so much more talented and better at climbing then the rest of the world. I'll believe it when I see it in European races, and not just s/america.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Is that list right, ACF?
I make that about 40 days of racing, rather than the reported 33-35.
Certainly a superior schedule if correct.

Sorry, he is not doing Pais Vasco and possibly Liege instead of Romande. My bad...

I think there was a similar thread that I made. NO knew information in the story that was released recently.

 

[rhubroma]

Seeing there was a thread started about Basso's more "aggressive" approach this year, I thought I'd refer to Evans coming in a bit more low key.

Any thoughts on him coming into the Tour less tired will help his chances at podium?

Be interesting to see which approach works better between the two.

 

[simo1733]

I don't think BMC can afford to give Cadel a light schedule,because he is the only one who will get any wins for them apart from Van Avamaert.

 

[taiwan]

I don't think BMC can afford to give Cadel a light schedule,because he is the only one who will get any wins for them apart from Van Avamaert.

Actually, IMO Santambrogio or Phinney may be the most likely to win a race.

Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[Trev_S]

I think Evans can do pretty well, he's a good chance of a podium and therefore a shot of winning.
Bertie (I think) is still a 50/50 starter and if he gets a start how will he go with the extra attention the Clen positive is going to bring him??
A.Schleck I'm not sold on and could easily have one bad day. Will Leopard run as good (or better) than their former team at Saxo??
S.Sanchez, I'd say close on the heels of Evans.
Basso, I think a good shot for a win and only marginally better than Evans.

Evans, matched Basso for most of the Giro on steeper climbs which you'd think would suit Basso better.

The Giro had 5 hill top finishes.
40km of TT + 30k TTT
Along with other hard stages where the GC was raced virtually every day.

BMC are not going to lose much if any time in the TTT against their main GC competitors, they might even gain a little time on some of them.
It's only a short TTT anyway, so the gaps are going to be small.

Focusing the year on the Tour could be a good thing for Evans and afterwards chase the races in the second half of the year, a good crack at the Vuelta as well.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I think Evans can do pretty well, he's a good chance of a podium and therefore a shot of winning.
Bertie (I think) is still a 50/50 starter and if he gets a start how will he go with the extra attention the Clen positive is going to bring him??
A.Schleck I'm not sold on and could easily have one bad day. Will Leopard run as good (or better) than their former team at Saxo??
S.Sanchez, I'd say close on the heels of Evans.
Basso, I think a good shot for a win and only marginally better than Evans.

Evans, matched Basso for most of the Giro on steeper climbs which you'd think would suit Basso better.

The Giro had 5 hill top finishes.
40km of TT + 30k TTT
Along with other hard stages where the GC was raced virtually every day.

BMC are not going to lose much if any time in the TTT against their main GC competitors, they might even gain a little time on some of them.
It's only a short TTT anyway, so the gaps are going to be small.

Focusing the year on the Tour could be a good thing for Evans and afterwards chase the races in the second half of the year, a good crack at the Vuelta as well.

I 99% agree with this statement...

 

[The Hitch]

He lost form at the end, but overall I think he was the 2nd best climber in that race.

Yet another person totaly forgets the existence of Michelle Scarponi.

I should start making a list.

Scarponi finished with Evans on all the mountain stages you mention him finishing with Basso.

He lost 11 seconds to Evans on Zoncolan 25 on Kronplatz and 9 on Gavia, but it was peanuts compared to the 3 minutes he gained on Mortirolo.

Evans went into the mountains minutes ahead of Michelle thanks to itt, ttt and mud.

The fact that once the road turned upwards Scarponi took back all that time and more tells you exactly who was the 2nd best climber of the Giro.

Having said that i think Evans was a bit off peak.

 

[movingtarget]

I could be wrong but I did not think that Evans was riding any of the April classics this year. I still think he should ride the Fleche as he always does well there and it's much shorter and less tough than the Liege.

I think it's good that he is willing to try something different as long as he does not race too hard at the Dauphine. Years ago it seemed that if you did not ride well in the Dauphine you did not do well at the TDF but of recent years the reverse seems to apply.

Evan's season is definitely not light when you consider that he will also probably do the Vuelta and the Tour of Lombardy. That is more than any other GC contender does for one season except for possibly someone like Sastre. This year Contador may be the other one. It seems he will definitely do two grand tours pending possible appeals of course. It would be good to see Evan's back in the mix again at a grand tour. As for the Colombians being the future. It's been quite a while since the days of Herrera and friends had success. Would be good to see some more talent from that part of the world competing at the top level.

 

[Dewulf]

it is revisionist lies. he never started the tour tired he would always make that excuse AFTER the tour. the 2009 tour being most pathetic when evans sucked so hard he explained that the reasons behind it could not be discussed then, but he would say after the tour. well he never said what it was. I can tell you what it was. coward lies from a man so afraid to lose he makes up excuses quicker than tom boonen. I have zero respect for the guy that when he feels some pressure become and aggresive moron to journalists and basically everyone. the guy is mentaly in no state to ever be on the forefront.

Hey, don't hold back now, tell us what you really think.

... I thought last year he would have been better off skipping the tour and having a crack at the Vuelta. The latter he surely has a chance of winning.

I agree, but no doubt bmc needed to make as big an impression as they could in their first year, so of course they sent their best gc rider to the biggest race. And fair enough, he got them a day in yellow, good publicity for a new team, and voila, they got a pro tour license this year.

Anyways Hitch and Trev S have pretty much got it figured spot on i think, and to answer the OP's question, yes, a lighter prep is worth trying, not sure if it will mean a significant difference or not, but only one way to find out, and likely the way to go if you're entering the latter stage of your career.

 

[movingtarget]

it is revisionist lies. he never started the tour tired he would always make that excuse AFTER the tour. the 2009 tour being most pathetic when evans sucked so hard he explained that the reasons behind it could not be discussed then, but he would say after the tour. well he never said what it was. I can tell you what it was. coward lies from a man so afraid to lose he makes up excuses quicker than tom boonen. I have zero respect for the guy that when he feels some pressure become and aggresive moron to journalists and basically everyone. the guy is mentaly in no state to ever be on the forefront.

I partly agree. Evan's behaviour at the 2009 Tour was plain bizarre. All that talk about him enjoying to ride in the autobus etc........at the time it did seem like some sort of psychological breakdown, stress related maybe. But I don't agree with the other comments. Let's just say that the sport could do with a few more eccentrics.

 

[kurtinsc]

Although the Giro had an epic hard course, it was not exactly the greatest climber field I've seen.

At the tour Schleck, Samu, Basso, Gesink, AC (although if he riders the giro, I discount him) etc are all better climbers then evans.
He might, and probably will beat one or even two of them on the GC, but he just isn't a good enough climber to win it. Never has been, never will be.

Can you ever remember saying to yourself, hhmmm I think evans will rip it up on the mountains today?
I certainly can't.

Fantastic all round rider, Probably the most versatile GC contender there is. But lacks it in the mountains, and his TT is not what it used to be. 08' will be as close as he gets.

@sasquatch
mark my words; Colombians wont dominate cycling. A few of there riders might become big shots, but I disagree with this hype-train. that colombia is supposedly so much more talented and better at climbing then the rest of the world. I'll believe it when I see it in European races, and not just s/america.

I guess I view it differently. I haven't seen him in a race the last 5 years where I haven't considered him as being one of the top 5 climbers in the event when the race was over. It feels like you're painting him with the same brush as Leipheimer where he's hanging on for dear life in the climbs and that simply isn't true.

Last year he showed he was capable of outperforming most other riders in certain types of lesser climbs (La Fleche Wallone, Montalcino stage of Giro). Even on the truly big climbs, he's near the top (2nd on Zoncolan).

Is he the climber that Basso, Schleck or Contador is? No. Is he as good a climber as Menchov, Sanchez, Gesink and Nibali? I don't see how you can avoid saying that he is. He won't beat those guys all the time, but he will in his share.

If you are saying that Evans can't climb well enough... then I feel that you're saying the only guys who currently CAN climb well enough are Contador, Schleck and Basso.

 

[kurtinsc]

Yet another person totaly forgets the existence of Michelle Scarponi.

I should start making a list.

Scarponi finished with Evans on all the mountain stages you mention him finishing with Basso.

He lost 11 seconds to Evans on Zoncolan 25 on Kronplatz and 9 on Gavia, but it was peanuts compared to the 3 minutes he gained on Mortirolo.

Evans went into the mountains minutes ahead of Michelle thanks to itt, ttt and mud.

The fact that once the road turned upwards Scarponi took back all that time and more tells you exactly who was the 2nd best climber of the Giro.

Having said that i think Evans was a bit off peak.

I think about the last stage before Evans form started cracking in the Giro last year was the Zoncolan.... maybe the climbing time trial the stage after.

Evans beat Scarponi by 25 seconds in the time trial and 12 seconds on Zoncolan (after a massive bonk trying to keep with Basso instead of riding his own race). Of the meaningful stages in the Giro that year, did Scarponi gain time on Evans anywhere other then Aprica when the three Italians worked together to isolate and crack Evans after his form was already heading south?


Scarponi is an excellent climber. I didn't forget about him. But he only climbed better then Evans on one stage in the race last year... one toward the very end after Evans had been trying to hold top form since April. Climbing better in ONE stage with two others helping after Evans was trying to hold peak form for over a month does make Scarponi a better climber in my opinion.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Last year he showed he was capable of outperforming most other riders in certain types of lesser climbs (La Fleche Wallone, Montalcino stage of Giro). Even on the truly big climbs, he's near the top (2nd on Zoncolan).

etc etc

cadel is great on the short stuff, should have concentrated on classics way back imo. But like I said the Giro was lacking real climbers (other then basso and scarponi), so the 2nd on Zoncolan is not something that will change my mind.

And yes I think Sanchez and Gesink (also guys like anton... not sure why you mentioned nibali, i didnt) are better climbers then evans, both of them were owning him at the vuelta 09'. Evans is always amongst it sure, but he has never been good enough. I hardly believe he will improve this year, while still young talents like gesink and co will not improve.

I didn't argue he wasn't a top 5 climber in a race, but top 5 climber doesn't cut, especially this year with young natural climbers coming through, and such mountainous courses.

I am so very confident evans wont come close to top podium at the tour this year. Again, his best chance has come and gone.