Rediscovering an admiration for C. Evans

[9000ft]

I admire Evans like I admire pretty much all pro cyclists. They're ALL about a dozen levels above anything I ever was as a racer and Evans is among the very best of that group. Like all of them, like all of us, he has his strengths and weaknesses. I don't know him, much less am a friend of his so I am not qualified to talk about what kind of person he is his. Even if I did know him, his personality has nothing to to do with how I see him as a bike racer.

 

[theyoungest]

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.

Sometimes I wonder why people who have so little love for all things European watch a primarily European sport.

 

[zapata]

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.

yes, when evans ancestors was banished from europe, it was because they weren't trashy like the rest of us.

I don't use smileys, but if I did I might put one in there..

 

[zapata]

by the way, I am one who have gained a new respect for evans this last year. trying not to hold it against him that some (not all!) of his fans are pretty obnoxious.

 

[this_is_edie]

by the way, I am one who have gained a new respect for evans this last year. trying not to hold it against him that some (not all!) of his fans are pretty obnoxious.

big ditto on that.

Evans seems to be having fun racing again or is it the first time on the road?

 

[dgodave]

Cadel has been a part of making this a great race.
.

 

[la.margna]

Since last year, when Cadel discovered attacking, I like his style of riding a lot, although it's not very beautiful

Impressive attack today. Unfortunately, 1km too late.. But great Giro with an almost non-existing team. Congrats Cadel!

 

[beroepsrenner]

There's no dought that Cadel has an odd personality but as others have pointed out, normal people dont race bikes at the elite level. It takes a certain amount of autistic tendancies to be able to focus so intently on such an insane sport. I think the fact that Cadel came to road racing at such a late age and not learning the tactical lessons that most of us learned at junior level delayed his progress enormously even though he always had the physical ability. The rainbow jersey has been a heavy burden for many cyclists over the years but Cadel's victory in the world championship last year cemented his confidence in himself to ride more aggressively instead of always riding defensively. I too have often been unimpressed by his style but this year we have seen the coming of age of Cadel Evans as a real superstar of our sport.

 

[Jamsque]

"This Giro didn't go as I wanted, especially after the second week. That's a pity but there were things that were out of my control but there's not much you can do about that."

More odd comments from him after today's stage. This had better be something good.

 

[zapata]

"This Giro didn't go as I wanted, especially after the second week. That's a pity but there were things that were out of my control but there's not much you can do about that."

More odd comments from him after today's stage. This had better be something good.

he said something about something being wrong, that he couldn't reveal until verona, right? can't imagine what.

 

[luckyboy]

Didn't he say it was an illness he couldn't reveal til Verona or was he more vague than that?

 

[Jamsque]

If it was an illness why couldn't he say what it was during the race?

 

[zapata]

I don't know, but even if it's a perfectly good excuse, I think he'd be better off keeping it to himself. Just bow down and say the best man won, "I did my best but Basso was the strongest"; that would gain him more respect than saying he could have won if not for this and that.

 

[gingerwallaceafro]

Cadel Evans is a true warrior and a revelation to me, I enjoy watching him more and more.

 

[hughmoore]

If it was an illness why couldn't he say what it was during the race?

IIRC, the commentators on Eurosport were talking about his gastro problems at end of the second week. Neverless thats just the luck of racing over three weeks.

Overall I thought its been a fanstastic race, Cadel was fantastactic and made me proud.

Basso was great also using his team to perfection.

Great race overall, well done to all riders and teams.


Regards


Hugh

Go Cuddles in the TDF.

 

[auscyclefan94]

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.

or some of the trash on this forum.

"This Giro didn't go as I wanted, especially after the second week. That's a pity but there were things that were out of my control but there's not much you can do about that."

More odd comments from him after today's stage. This had better be something good.

Form...

I don't know, but even if it's a perfectly good excuse, I think he'd be better off keeping it to himself. Just bow down and say the best man won, "I did my best but Basso was the strongest"; that would gain him more respect than saying he could have won if not for this and that.

He did kinda say that also.

 

[yourwelcome]

say the best man won, "I did my best but Basso was the strongest"; that would gain him more respect than saying he could have won if not for this and that.

He did say it. More than once.

+1 for the OP. I've enjoyed watching Evans this year.

 

[luckyboy]

Can't say I like him, but it's been cool seeing him fighting.

 

[Ferminal]

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.

Are you suggesting it would've been better for him to race the Giro like Sastre?

Just drop off and sit in no mans land on every climb? At least that way he can't wheelsuck.

Would finishing 8th on Zoncolan be more impressive in your mind than trying to follow the strongest man in the race for half the climb and finishing 2nd?

 

[Bazza_13]

Leisal Jones on the road?

There's this Aussie breaststroker (swimmer) called Leisal Jones. When she was 15, 16 or so, she smahed or the world records, was world champion etc. But come the olympics she got beat. She blamed everyone and everything and when she got her bronze medal, she was looking rather glump on the podium. She stuck her bottom lip out and was a real sook.
The Aussie media and public layed into her. Afterwards, she had some media training, some sports phyc sessions and just generally mellowed.
Cadel seems the same. All this potential and kept losing. But once he's got that worlds title he's a different bloke. Yes, he's still eccentric, but thats ok. He's just a lot more gracious. That, and his guts, I think he's a fine world champion! Go Cadel!

 

[Woody22]

I have a feeling that the problems Evans is refering to may be to do with Santambrogio (not sure if that's how you speel it) exiting the tour when he did. He was to be his main helper in the mountain stages and I was shocked to see him retire when he did. Hope he was just sick, and it was nothing to do with his previous issues that led to him being stood down by BMC. Probably completely wrong... just a thought.

 

[movingtarget]

Evans

Evans has been consistent in his praise of Bassxo and his team and also Arroyo. Maybe he is just being polite by making a comment after the race and not detracting anything from the winner. How do you wheelsuck on the Zoncolan ? Yes they were travelling so fast the drafting made a huge difference ................

 

[mherm79]

The rainbow jersey has been a heavy burden for many cyclists over the years but Cadel's victory in the world championship last year cemented his confidence in himself to ride more aggressively instead of always riding defensively. I too have often been unimpressed by his style but this year we have seen the coming of age of Cadel Evans as a real superstar of our sport.

+1 He certainly wears the rainbow jersey well and I agree it seems like his more confident. He still needs to get more media savy, as every time he opens his mouth he sounds like his winging.

Would love to see what he could do with a decent team mate...

 

[beroepsrenner]

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.

You seem to be swimming against the tide with this post!
It shows a complete lack of understanding of bike racing. While Cadel often blurts out petty excuses, when you have virtually no team around to support you at the front of the peloton you have no choice but to ride defensively and pick the right moment to move. There is a huge difference between riding defensively and wheel sucking.

I guess this is a prime example of armchair experts who should think before they post.

 

[karlboss]

You seem to be swimming against the tide with this post!
It shows a complete lack of understanding of bike racing. While Cadel often blurts out petty excuses, when you have virtually no team around to support you at the front of the peloton you have no choice but to ride defensively and pick the right moment to move. There is a huge difference between riding defensively and wheel sucking.

I guess this is a prime example of armchair experts who should think before they post.

I believe you'll find Mrs Murphy is quite knowlegable and likes to stir the evans crowd.