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Rediscovering an admiration for C. Evans

Jul 2, 2009
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I used to find Cadel Evans I dunno, boring, or lacking some spark which would excite you in any way. He was the nearly man who "always follows" and "never attacks". I must say though that since last years TdF when the TTT destroyed any chance he had (wouldn't beat Contador or Schleck anyway) I discovered a new found fondness for the Australian. This year it seems the Worlds jersey has given him a renewed vigor and his battling qualities (a quality I always admire - the underdog, the man all on his own who won't go away) have been great to watch. His fighting spirit in the Giro has suddenly had me up out of couch and willing him on when he has been dropped on the climbs by the machine that is Liquigas. This thread isn't a do you like Evans or not like him, but to see if anyone else has found themselves with a new found fondness for the man. Chapeau Cadel - you've got a new fan here.
 
May 29, 2010
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Cadel: new appreciation for the world champ

Absolutely. I agree. Cadel was .....lets face it an awkward participant in the Ranks, he came with a highl level of expertise in another discipline (MTB), he entered very late into Road Racing and at the Elite level, so he was in at the deep end. To me he often looked extremely uncomfotable on the road, his elbows out on the outside of the bunch, he raced like he was always waiting for something to happen. But to his credit he has persevered with back to back injuries, Team Telekom, his quirky personality etc and really triumphed. He was a completely different rider at the Worlds thank god. There was never any doubt about his engine, but it appeared he didnt really know how to win (win a road race) not just tactically. Yes i have a much different view of him based on his performances recently.
 
May 27, 2010
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That's affirmative from me! Great to see the Rainbow jersey at the pointy end too. Its frustrating that he doesn't have a great team behind him - no surprise he and Sastre etc were willing to work together even if others weren't. You can't knock a gutsy rider like Cadel. And I too would be angry if someone stood on my dog! Hope he goes on to claim a few more good wins before retiring.
 
Feb 14, 2010
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It's so cool that you three found each other on your first day or so of posting. :)

Just goes to show how pro cyclists are uniters not dividers, to quote that one dumb President.
 
Apr 26, 2010
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I just love the fact that the rainbow jersey is in action! For once the "curse" has not applied to the wearer....It sucked last year when Ballan was sick the whole year and only managed to win the Tour of Poland! It has been great to see Cadel fighting for every single second in this Giro, I hope he continues to do so the rest of his career.
 
Admiring Evans

The people that don't admire Evans mainly don't seem to like his personality or accuse him of being a wheelsucker. If Evans is feeling good enough he will always share the work. If he is following wheels he is finding it hard. Others do this and nothing is said. When Evans does, it's a problem. I have always admired Evans and it seems that a lot of the riders that compete against him, do as well. If others think he is boring who cares.
 
movingtarget said:
The people that don't admire Evans mainly don't seem to like his personality or accuse him of being a wheelsucker. If Evans is feeling good enough he will always share the work. If he is following wheels he is finding it hard. Others do this and nothing is said. When Evans does, it's a problem. I have always admired Evans and it seems that a lot of the riders that compete against him, do as well. If others think he is boring who cares.
You're wrong there. He doesn't have many friends in the peloton.
 
May 29, 2010
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Weird is normal

Theres always eccentrics and quirky characters in sport (business, education .......cycling forums. DOH ! ! ). What am I saying ! ? ! ? Back to the strange folks in cycling, im trying to think of really level headed balanced, great cyclists and i dunno. Maybe i dont get out enough, but cyclists are pretty kooky ( myself included). I think you need to have an interesting "deck of cards" to relish peddlin for hours with an increasing level of discomfort. I guess i should have done my literature search in the forums before i comment, but the topic of 'kooks in cycling' has already been investigated. Evgeni Berzin, Gregor Braun, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Ocana, ...theres lots, our own Reg McNamara and Ozzie Nicholson. Nicholson rode from Melbourne to Portsea and back every day for a year to set a world endurance record, that takes a special level of unusual-ness.
 
Mar 11, 2009
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I've loved Cadel's rainbow re-invention, he's much more exciting to watch now (although I liked him before too). I kind of wish he had gone farther, though, I think he would have more success if he let go of his GT ambitions, a tough pill to swallow though that may be, and focused on the one-day races in which he excels, and perhaps shorter stage races without big long climbs.
 
May 29, 2010
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Evans the one day specialist ??

Jamsque. Good point. Its a long standing quandary. Should i stay or should i go. Hes Grand Tour days are over I hate to admit but theres a few good years in the classics, hed be great....but then theres always his team and team selection. Stephen Wasserman semed to knocking on the door year after year.
 
Mar 11, 2009
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His team situation has certainly not helped him in Grand Tours, but I think this Giro he has demonstrated both that he doesn't necessarily need a strong team to do well in a grand tour, and that he probably does not have the climbing chops to go up long, steep climbs with the best in the peloton day in and day out.

I think if he spent the remaining years of his career focusing on races like the Ardennes classics and Lombardia, and maybe short hilly stage races like Paris-Nice, he could have a lot of success.
 
how are his GT days over?
If he had a decent team around him or at least another two riders to help him in the mountains, then he'd be doing far better at this Giro.
Only two stages left and he's only just been knocked off the final podium after effectively riding the event by himself...

I've always been a bit non-plussed about him, but have actually been watching and willing him on at the Giro. Certainly not a nationalist type support, but I'd really liked to have seen him win this Giro...
 
Totally agree with Sparky. Still not sure I 'like' Cadel - but I sure do admire and respect him, and I find myself wanting him to win a GT at some point.

Tenacious P said:
Its frustrating that he doesn't have a great team behind him

My one reservation with finding myself wanting Cadel to win something is that this ch!nk in his armour is entirely self-inflicted. The support of Matt Lloyd and Charlie Wegelius in this Giro would have been a real benefit to him. And I reckon that even if he felt he had to leave Lotto in the winter - that he could have found a more suitable team - although perhaps that team would not have been prepared to match BMC's offer financially. As far as team support goes - he's made his bed - now he's got to lie in it.
 

SpartacusRox

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May 6, 2010
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theyoungest said:
You're wrong there. He doesn't have many friends in the peloton.

Probably not, most of the euro trash aren't fit to clean his bike. Cadel has more balls than most of them put together when it comes to gutsing it out when the hurt comes on. He has raced superbly in this Giro with a weak, sometimes non existant, team up against a very strong LG team and has never taken a backward step.
 
Oct 16, 2009
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theyoungest said:
movingtarget said:
The people that don't admire Evans mainly don't seem to like his personality or accuse him of being a wheelsucker. If Evans is feeling good enough he will always share the work. If he is following wheels he is finding it hard. Others do this and nothing is said. When Evans does, it's a problem. I have always admired Evans and it seems that a lot of the riders that compete against him, do as well. If others think he is boring who cares.
You're wrong there. He doesn't have many friends in the peloton.
Maybe, maybe not, but guys like Haussler seem to admire his dedication:
 
Jul 10, 2009
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I think a lot of people can identify with Cadel's awkward even shy public persona more than if he was brash and confident like some other cycling stars. Maybe its an Aussie thing.

The other thing I suspect people like about him is that when they see him at the pointy end of a bike race be it trying to hang on or trying to attack he always seems to be suffering more than everybody else. Its as though he has got there more on sheer determination rather than outstanding talent - despite what his coach says.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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Evans always seems to be in the race. You never get the feeling the guy is training for another race. He just goes balls out, all the time.

And he looks like gollum on a bike.
 
Dec 29, 2009
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SpartacusRox said:
Probably not, most of the euro trash aren't fit to clean his bike. Cadel has more balls than most of them put together when it comes to gutsing it out when the hurt comes on. He has raced superbly in this Giro with a weak, sometimes non existant, team up against a very strong LG team and has never taken a backward step.



more balls than brains maybe and when you are generally despised the bunch can make it harder on you. and why does a GT contender never have a team to support him when so many teams need a star? you can blame it on bum luck but i think no one wants to deal with the guy.

ed rader
 
May 29, 2010
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Always making excuses (new brake pads?!), blaming his team publicly (see all previous grand tours, even when he had Horner in the mountains with him til the last 5K, i'm sure that makes guys love riding for him when he trash talks them all the time), sissy slap fighting in the peloton when he's ****ed that every GC contender except him managed to make a selection, throwing coke on reporters, fighting with guys interviewing him, and generally whining all the time.

As was stated before, the reason he never has a strong team is because no one wants to ride for him. He's a complete ***. He's one of the 5 best Grand Tour riders in the world. Of the 10 best Grand Tour riders, he is the only one that never has a good team around him year after year...that has to tell you something. Also consider the fact that people rarely cooperate with him in the peloton.

I will never respect Cadel Evans. I don't care who wins, as long as Cadel Evans loses.
 
Mar 11, 2009
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clashb02 said:
Always making excuses (new brake pads?!), blaming his team publicly (see all previous grand tours, even when he had Horner in the mountains with him til the last 5K, i'm sure that makes guys love riding for him when he trash talks them all the time), sissy slap fighting in the peloton when he's ****ed that every GC contender except him managed to make a selection, throwing coke on reporters, fighting with guys interviewing him, and generally whining all the time.

As was stated before, the reason he never has a strong team is because no one wants to ride for him. He's a complete ***. He's one of the 5 best Grand Tour riders in the world. Of the 10 best Grand Tour riders, he is the only one that never has a good team around him year after year...that has to tell you something. Also consider the fact that people rarely cooperate with him in the peloton.

I will never respect Cadel Evans. I don't care who wins, as long as Cadel Evans loses.

Thanks for registering an account in order to drop this pearl of wisdom on us. Much appreciated.
 
Seems a pretty accurate statement. Time for you fanboys to get off the Cuddles Kool-Aid. He wheelsucked his way around Italy and then launched one attack with 3km to go on the penultimate stage.

He always blames everyone else for his failures and he has all the excuses. He is f-ugly on the bike and a negative, boring wheelsucker who doesn't deserve to win.
 
Oct 16, 2009
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clashb02 said:
bleurgh bleurgh :mad:
Mrs John Murphy said:
blah blah :mad::mad:
haters.jpg
 
Mar 11, 2009
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If you genuinely believe that then you must have been watching a different Giro from me, and I'm no Evans fanboy. He may not have been attacking off the front every day, but he rode hard all the way through this Giro and did his share of work bridging gaps and chasing down moves. To say he doesn't deserve to win is ignorant and smacks of prejudice.
 
No, it comes of watching the race. He wheelsucked his way around Italy.

The only time he did anything active was when he got dropped, other than attacking with 3km to go today his attacking was limited MR after a crash. Shows what a hypocrite he is after he complained about Piti attacking him when he had a mechanical in the Vuelta.

All the usual Cuddles excuses, no team, can't attack, blah, blah, blah.

Cuddles race tactics - get towed around Italy and hope to win in the final TT.