Skip to main content

CADEL EVANS GOES MOURINHO

“Please don’t call me arrogant, but I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.” (Jose Mourinho)
"There will be one leader, and that will be me because I have the experience and the results to back up that I can win the Tour." (Cadel Evans)
Cadel Evans' latest interview at BMC's presentation in Belgium was interesting mainly for two factors: his underlined cry for leadership at the Tour and the veiled accusation of wrongdoing by TeamSky, in particular Wiggins. 
The overall impression is that of a worried rider but one eager to show his best. 
Last year's lacklustre performance has been blamed on a virus contracted while visiting his adopted son in Ethiopia. His age also must be a worrying factor for him too as not many 36-year-olds have managed to win a Tour. 

He's also clearly worried by Van Garderen's abilities and wants to establish a clearer hierarchy than last year's. Tejay Van Garderen is an all round exceptional young rider, clearly a future contender as he managed 5th in the overall classification last year without a clear objective from the team. Tejay's problems are more of maturity, team work is not his ambition, leading is. But to become a leader he has to gain political skills in order to have teammates happy to give it all for him. Because of his strength, his tactical sense tends to become clouded by the excitement of the performance. The growing talent in the peloton must be a worry for Evans too, with the shuffling of riders within the ProTour, many strong upcoming young riders are an unknown entity and some established ones have the strength of renovated lineups to suit their ambitions.
TeamSky is a clear and established threat, hence his dig at their performance. His concerns at Wiggins' prolonged form puzzles me as he rides with teammates who have achieved that, actually for longer, like Gilbert for instance. Also, Boonen usually lasts until the Tour, Rodriguez had a very long season and so on. Evans himself has shown in the past a high level of form been maintained until the Worlds and Lombardy. His dig at Sky and suspicions of their "methods" are difficult to agree with coming from a rider who has used the services of dodgy Ferrari and whose reluctance to speak out against doping has always shadowed his otherwise much-loved persona.

This Mourinho-esque self-endorsement is slightly awkward but it's good to hear confidence in Evans. Although his style on the bike is not exactly an elegant one, his grit and determination are legendary. He never gives up until he's absolutely forced to by his body or by external circumstances. At his best only Contador and Wiggins, perhaps Froome now, can stand in his way to the top of the podium in an increasingly time-trial-oriented race.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REACH OUT, TALK TO PEOPLE

I wanted to share what we did at the weekend in the hope to inspire other people to try what my partner and I ended up doing. A few days ago we were walking the dogs late in the afternoon and on the way back, in this big field, we noticed an elderly woman walking slowly leaning on her stick. We asked if she was ok as she seemed tentative and a little confused. The very first thing she said, almost without realising that's what she was going to say was: "You are the first people I've spoken to all day". Neither of us expected that so we stayed with her, chatting away for about 40 minutes. We ended up walking her back to her house, exchange numbers and invite her for a Sunday roast. She was going to be 89 a few days later and it seemed a nice thing to do. She was really touched as she didn't have it in her to cook a roast for herself (and she admitted she hated cooking).
Post a Comment
Read more

LA CLASSICISSIMA, A PREVIEW

As classics go, Milano-Sanremo is the longest of them all (almost 300km) and one of the oldest (1907). Eddy Merckx has won it a record 7 times. It has been marred by late snow at times and its route has been modified here and there, but at its core is the length and flatness, so one for the sprinters traditionally but not so much of late. There are a few lumps, but although short and not very steep, they usually come at the end of a long day on the saddle and have been decisive in the outcome of the race. In recent times, the climbs of Cipressa (added in 1982) and Poggio (added in 1960) have been the theatres of all-out attacks. The breakneck and twisty descent from the Poggio especially, induced some of the most entertaining racing... and some awful crashes too. The finish in the town of Sanremo has moved posts a few times but whether it was in the false flat of Via Roma or on the pan flat promenade by the sea, many a time it has ended in a bunch sprint.
Post a Comment
Read more

AN OLYMPIC EFFORT

When the Olympic cycling road race and TT race routes were announced I was extremely excited. I live bang in the middle of both. One of the most important races in cycling was going to be ridden near my house. Television screens would be filled with images of roads I'm familiar with, the pros will be riding my commute to work AND some of my cycling club runs' routes (Kingston Wheelers).
4 comments
Read more