- Mar 10, 2009
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Jamsque said:I'm really fed up with people calling Cadel Evans a wheel sucker and a whiner. Granted, he did not cope very well with the media pressure that comes with being the favourite at last year's TdF, but he also had a really nasty crash and from that point onwards in the race was clearly suffering all day every day. I think that would be enough to make anyone cranky.
As for the wheelsucker comment, I can't really argue with you if you think that Cadel is not a particularly exciting racer to watch. That's your opinion and you are entitled to it, but I think you need to bear in mind that Cadel is not a superman like Armstrong and Contador who can seemingly dominate every aspect of a race. He went in to the TdF knowing that he was far from the best climber in the race, and that his team was not the strongest, so his plan from the start was to minimise his losses in the mountains and make back time in the TTs. What you call wheel-sucking I would call playing to his strengths. It would have been pointless for him to attack in the mountains, because he could never have stayed away from Menchov, Valverde, Sastre or the Schlecks.
I agree with you 100% on Evans' tactics. They were absolutely what he needed to do to maximize his placing. He could have attacked, blown and finished 6th, or did exactly what he did and earn a well-deserved trip to the podium. Perhaps he's the Aussie "Pou Pou", though I don't think that's where he or his fans want him to be!!
Now - as for the whining...