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Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't
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Enlarge textUnable to attack his opponents nor satisfy his fans, Cadel Evans finds himself in a difficult situation, writes Mike Tomalaris.
Cadel Evans can't pull a trick in the Tour (AAP)
- 53 Comments | Join the discussion
Cadel Evans is often accused by the cycling tifosi and sections
of the media of being timid and not attacking, but when he does, his
attempts are quickly shut down by his opponents.
That's the predicament he finds himself in after a failed solo attack on the road to St Girons.
It was a brave move but one that was snuffed out upon the arrival of Fabian Cancellara, Thor Hushovd and others.
The volley of words Cancellara
shelled out at Evans was animated to say the least, and it's fair to
say he didn't hold back at expressing his views that Evans wasn't
welcomed in the breakaway as it would have sparked a reaction at the
front of the peloton from team Astana.
Evans never stood a chance!
What right do riders have to tell rivals to stay away from an attack if it means risking a possible stage win?
After all, there were no guarantees the Swiss and Olympic champion would have won the race.
As
it turned out Cancellara was never a chance given the sequence of events that
happened in the early stages of the long trek through the Pyrenees.
Despite his lower-than-expected-placing on the General Classification,
it's obvious Evans has earned the highest respect from his peers, but
as Dave McKenzie illustrated in the post-stage analysis, he was between
a rock and a hard place.
Maybe it's time too for the tifosi and media to give Evans a similar respect and understanding after witnessing the predicament he's in.
Given today's failed coup, I fear Evans
may have difficulty returning to the top 10, let alone reduce the three
minute deficit currently needed to catch the leaders.
There
is no way the likes of Contador, Armstrong and Leipheimer will allow a
quality rival like Evans such leeway - on that basis he must resort to
trying to win a stage if at all possible.
Perhaps it's not the right time to ask, but what does he do to rectify his current situation at future Tours?
How does he attract the personnel required to support him?
As
he currently tries to fight his way back into contention, Evans must
start asserting his authority on Silence-Lotto's power brokers.
Evans must demand management find the desired riders needed to guide him to overall victory next year.
I
still have my hope Evans will continue the fight, but sadly with the
weak roster he has to work with, I fear that fight may be futile.
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Comments (53)
Previous 10 |
26 Jul 2009 9:52 AEST
From: Sydney
--
Silence Lotto is the Is far from fantastic, In fact they are one of the worst teams in the tour and to say they are fantastic well you must be watching another race. Too let your team leader do all the work year in and year out well no wonder Cadel can't win the blood race he NO help his team is useless just Popovych last year and he's whole team this year. You look at the likes of Astana, Saxo Bank and Columbia they kill themselves for there team leaders so i think it's time for Cadel too found a team that will do that for him.
25 Jul 2009 18:22 AEST
From: melb
--
get over it, cadel is fried for this year.
25 Jul 2009 12:18 AEST
From: Forest Reefs
No help for Cadel
I have watched the race most nights when I can stay awake. I feel for Cadel as there seems very little help for him by team mates. As for telling him to get out of the breakaway who on earth has the right to tell him. The person (s) responsible should be docked points for doing so. I am sure Cadel needs to look elsewhere for a team that is going to help him.
24 Jul 2009 18:48 AEST
From: Mebourne
--
Cadel left his best form on the road at the Dauphine. Like Iban Mayo in 2004 if you leave your best form at the Dauphine you'll have nothing left in the last week of the Tour. My take.....Cadel will never win the Tour. (hope that he proves me wrong but...). He's never had the killer instinct and never will. As a MTBer he was a stayer and won the world cup numerous times that way. He'll never win the TdF like that. Silence Lotto should drop him. The team are fantastic. Where else are you going to get a man like Johan van Someren who can smash it over to cobbles in Roubaix and up a mountain. Ever wondered why Popovych has had a good come back.........good team leader. Nout our precious Cadel!!!!
24 Jul 2009 18:09 AEST
From: Melbourne Australia
--
Yup Fred, Cadel is either not mentioned by SBS, or when he is, It's in a negative manner. I mean, gee, he was runner up in the Tour of Italy, surely Cadel is not expeccted to win every tour on the planet. Most riders like to think they can win all the tours, but it doesn't work that way. Each rider is striving for that extra bit of lung capacity in the mountains, and if the air is just that much too thin for them, well forget trying to die for a cause. Save ya bloody strength for the chicken and veg stir fry and Gabriel Gate's Peche Melba when the day is done.
24 Jul 2009 7:32 AEST
From: Byron Bay
--
Cadel who? you wouldn't really know he was in the tour with the numnber of times he has been mentioned on SBS tv broadcasts.
23 Jul 2009 12:59 AEST
From: Melbourne Australia
--
So if Cadel stays with Silence, he will hav a co-leader. don't know how that would sit with Cadel, maybe he would look elsewhere, or to be realistic, he may welcome this, as did Astana with Lance and Alberto. This method drives a rider to compete for the duration of the tour.It's like a competion within the tour itself. Granted, most expected Cadel to do well, but hey, Sastre doesn't exactly look the winner of the TDF that he was last year.
21 Jul 2009 13:25 AEST
From: Beijing
Give him a team and he will win
Cadel is a 1 man team in this tour and is riding the best he can. With the TDF in recent times we see it's a team effort and the most cohesive team with the respect and support for their captain, usually gets the job done. Give Cadel a team that will support him and i guess we will see our first Aussie winner on the TDF podium number 1 spot. Either way he is a good ambassador for integrity and sportsmanship within cycling. Anthony
18 Jul 2009 17:34 AEST
From: Wollongong
--
As over the last 12 years of watching the tour on SBS I thank you for presenting it to us in Australia the only criticism with this year's coverage is you seem to have forgot to show the overall standing of the Aussies in the highlight show and also I understand that advertising sponsorship is integral to the funding of the tdf coverage but the advertising this year on the highlight show has greatly diminished the function of a "highlight show"
18 Jul 2009 9:58 AEST
From: gawler
--
as a novice I am looking with little inside or prior knowledge , but the success of astana and columbia team work is beyond an individual to tackle, I wish cadel team could create the same opportunity and strength to him, but it isn't that easy, but that's what make this such a spectacular sport!
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Stay in touch with the ProTour road cycling season with SBS's cycling blog, featuring race reports, video highlights and blog coverage of every race of 2010, as well as details of SBS's racing coverage
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