Cadel Evans of Australia speeds downhill to take a fifth place in the first stage of the Tour de France cycling race. (AP Photo)
Australian Cadel Evans was given cause for both optimism and alarm after the opening stage of the Tour de France which left some of his potential yellow jersey rivals in the race's driving seat.
Evans finished fifth in a technically-demanding time trial won by Swiss Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara who rides with Stuart O'Grady at the Saxo Bank team.
But arguably the most notable result was enjoyed by the Astana team of 2007 champion Alberto Contador and seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, the Kazakh-backed outfit placing four riders in the top ten.
Contador finished second to Cancellara but only 18secs adrift while two-time runner-up Evans stayed in touch with a promising fifth place finish at 23secs behind the Swiss.
Some other Tour contenders, such as Denis Menchov of Russia and defending champion Carlos Sastre, both finished over a minute in arrears.
Although only the first skirmish in a battle that will really only get nasty in the mountains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, Evans has already been given plenty of food for thought.
With four riders in the top ten - Contador, fourth-placed Andreas Kloden, sixth-placed Levi Leipheimer and Armstrong, who was 10th - Astana have already thrown down the gauntlet.
‘Could have been worse’
Evans was disappointed at coming fifth, but it could have been worse. And, as he said, there is still a long way to go.
"It's not bad, but it could be better," he said.
"I still have to look at the results and make a bit of an assessment, but I was beaten by four guys (on the stage). I didn't win so obviously I wasn't the best here but there's a long way to go yet.
"I'm on track. Not right there, but I'm on track."
Contador meanwhile put paid to the speculation which suggested that Astana would not fully support the Spaniard, who beat Evans into second place in 2007.
Any disappointment he felt at not taking the race lead will be shaded by the fact that he is now undoubtedly the man to lead Astana's charge towards the yellow jersey.
The Spaniard, absent last year because Astana were not invited, now has a 48sec lead on defending champion Carlos Sastre, who finished in 21st place, and a 1:13 lead on recent Tour of Italy champion Menchov, who finished in modest 53rd place.
Saxo Bank team leader Andy Schleck was slightly better off at 42sec behind Contador.
'Plan to hold on to the lead'
Although Cancellara is not an overall yellow jersey contender, Saxo Bank said they will do everything to hold on to the lead at least up until the team time trial on Tuesday, the race's next big rendezvous.
Three days later the race will head into the Pyrenees for three days of climbing, with Contador expected to try and distance his rivals even further.
Contador will go into Sunday's second stage wearing the best climber's polka dot jersey, but said he doesn't aim to keep it.
"I'd like to switch this jersey for the yellow one," said the 26-year-old Spaniard.
Sastre had little to say after what must be seen as a mediocre result, despite the fact he is not as strong in the time trial as Contador and Evans.
However his team manager Alex Sans Vega was quick to play down talk of any damage being done.
"It's never good to lose any time, but for us this isn't a catastrophe," he said.
"He doesn't have as much punch as younger guys like Contador. He needs some days in the mountains before his body starts to fire up. In the third week, when it matters, he will be up there."
Armstrong happy with performance
Having started and finished his race much earlier in the day, Armstrong was happy with a performance which, at the time, he could not gauge against the bigger stage favourites.
"I didn't have any illusions (about winning the stage), which is logical given I've been four years away," said the 37-year-old Texan, who only returned to professional racing in January after a three-and-a-half year hiatus.
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[headline] => Still a long way to go, says Evans
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Australian Cadel Evans was given cause for both optimism and alarm after the opening stage of the Tour de France which left some of his potential yellow jersey rivals in the race's driving seat.
[keywords] => Cadel Evans, Tour de France, opening stage
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Australian Cadel Evans was given cause for both optimism and alarm after the opening stage of the Tour de France which left some of his potential yellow jersey rivals in the race's driving seat.
Evans finished fifth in a technically-demanding time trial won by Swiss Olympic champion Fabian Cancellara who rides with Stuart O'Grady at the Saxo Bank team.
But arguably the most notable result was enjoyed by the Astana team of 2007 champion Alberto Contador and seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, the Kazakh-backed outfit placing four riders in the top ten.
Contador finished second to Cancellara but only 18secs adrift while two-time runner-up Evans stayed in touch with a promising fifth place finish at 23secs behind the Swiss.
Some other Tour contenders, such as Denis Menchov of Russia and defending champion Carlos Sastre, both finished over a minute in arrears.
Although only the first skirmish in a battle that will really only get nasty in the mountains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, Evans has already been given plenty of food for thought.
With four riders in the top ten - Contador, fourth-placed Andreas Kloden, sixth-placed Levi Leipheimer and Armstrong, who was 10th - Astana have already thrown down the gauntlet.
‘Could have been worse’
Evans was disappointed at coming fifth, but it could have been worse. And, as he said, there is still a long way to go.
"It's not bad, but it could be better," he said.
"I still have to look at the results and make a bit of an assessment, but I was beaten by four guys (on the stage). I didn't win so obviously I wasn't the best here but there's a long way to go yet.
"I'm on track. Not right there, but I'm on track."
Contador meanwhile put paid to the speculation which suggested that Astana would not fully support the Spaniard, who beat Evans into second place in 2007.
Any disappointment he felt at not taking the race lead will be shaded by the fact that he is now undoubtedly the man to lead Astana's charge towards the yellow jersey.
The Spaniard, absent last year because Astana were not invited, now has a 48sec lead on defending champion Carlos Sastre, who finished in 21st place, and a 1:13 lead on recent Tour of Italy champion Menchov, who finished in modest 53rd place.
Saxo Bank team leader Andy Schleck was slightly better off at 42sec behind Contador.
'Plan to hold on to the lead'
Although Cancellara is not an overall yellow jersey contender, Saxo Bank said they will do everything to hold on to the lead at least up until the team time trial on Tuesday, the race's next big rendezvous.
Three days later the race will head into the Pyrenees for three days of climbing, with Contador expected to try and distance his rivals even further.
Contador will go into Sunday's second stage wearing the best climber's polka dot jersey, but said he doesn't aim to keep it.
"I'd like to switch this jersey for the yellow one," said the 26-year-old Spaniard.
Sastre had little to say after what must be seen as a mediocre result, despite the fact he is not as strong in the time trial as Contador and Evans.
However his team manager Alex Sans Vega was quick to play down talk of any damage being done.
"It's never good to lose any time, but for us this isn't a catastrophe," he said.
"He doesn't have as much punch as younger guys like Contador. He needs some days in the mountains before his body starts to fire up. In the third week, when it matters, he will be up there."
Armstrong happy with performance
Having started and finished his race much earlier in the day, Armstrong was happy with a performance which, at the time, he could not gauge against the bigger stage favourites.
"I didn't have any illusions (about winning the stage), which is logical given I've been four years away," said the 37-year-old Texan, who only returned to professional racing in January after a three-and-a-half year hiatus.
SBS is broadcasting the Tour de France live
[start_date] => 05 July 2009 | 10:50:06 AM
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[headline] => Can Cadel Evans win the Tour de France?
[abstract] => As Cadel Evans looks to win the world's toughest cycling race, Roger Vaughan asks has his moment passed?
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Once again, Cadel Evans is showing emphatically he has the natural ability to win the Tour de France.
But whether the Australian cycling star has the crucial mixture of strong temperament, good luck, team strength and the right circumstances from July 4-26 is another matter entirely.
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Only three days out from the race start in Monaco, Silence-Lotto team-mate Thomas Dekker was thrown off the Tour squad for doping.
Given Evans' well-documented problems with team support and his determination to have a calm preparation this year, the Dekker suspension is a multi-dimensional disaster.
Indeed, well before this bombshell, there was a nagging sense that Evans' chance might have passed to become the first Australian Tour winner.
The 32-year-old was runner-up to Alberto Contador in the 2007 Tour by only 23 seconds.
Last year, he was second again to another Spaniard, Carlos Sastre, by 58 seconds.
That's less than a minute per Tour after three weeks and about 3500km of racing.
Last month Evans showed perfect pre-Tour form by finishing runner-up at the Dauphine Libere, always a key lead-up race, as he has done for the last two years.
He excelled in the two time trials at the Dauphine and might have won the overall title, but for an unofficial alliance between race champion Alejandro Valverde and his compatriot Contador.
Physically, Evans was built for the Tour - Australian cycling coach Dave Sanders likens the 32-year-old's physiology to a diesel engine.
It is also notable that Evans actually suffers on the big mountain climbs.
The drug test results and cycling's rumour mill add further credibility to Evans' strong anti-doping views.
But the Australian has big challenges elsewhere.
Tactical challenges
The main knock on Evans' racing style is that he lacks tactical aggression.
There are also concerns about his ability to handle pressure - his outbursts during last year's Tour are popular snippets on YouTube.
True, Evans was trying to cope with nasty injuries from a mid-Tour crash that nearly put him out of the race. And even his staunchest admirers concede he is a unique personality.
But mayhem is the essence of the Tour de France.
This year's field is packed with potential winners, a double-edged sword for the Australian.
While the serious challenges will come from everywhere, Evans might have less of the limelight and this would not bother him one little bit.
There are four previous champions in Sastre, Contador, fellow Spaniard Oscar Pereiro and seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, while Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden have finished on the podium as well.
Four of those - Contador, Armstrong, Leipheimer and Kloden - are all on the Astana squad and one of the themes of this year's Tour will be how team boss Johann Bruyneel manages his talent.
Armstrong, especially, is not noted for gladly playing second fiddle to anyone.
An unexpected boost for Evans has come from Australian team-mate Matt Lloyd, who suffered serious back injuries in a race crash earlier this season.
Lloyd not only recovered from those wounds, but shot into Silence-Lotto's team and a Tour debut with a stunning ride at the Dauphine.
"He really proved he's a very worthy rider of the Tour ... it's been a really pleasant surprise, actually," Evans said.
"He's at a level where he can really make a difference at the Tour."
Evans and Lloyd are among six, maybe seven Australian starters this year.
A ruling will decide whether Australia's Allan Davis or Belgian Tom Boonen will ride for Quick Step - the last Tour slot to be decided.
There's also in-form German Heinrich Haussler, who was born in Australia and intends to transfer soon to an Australian racing licence.
Simon Gerrans was a shock omission from Sastre's Cervelo team for the Tour, but Brett Lancaster is in the final nine.
Former top-10 finisher Michael Rogers and Mark Renshaw will ride for Columbia-HTC and the legendary Stuart O'Grady will support the Schleck brothers in the Saxo Bank team.
But the Australian focus will be on Evans, who is being careful these days not to be all things to all people in the eye of the Tour storm.
"My first coach Damien Grundy said a line which I will never forget, and it's especially important at the Tour - `you can't keep everyone happy all of the time and it's dangerous to try'," Evans said.
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[articledate] => 3 July 2009
[articletime] => 3 July 2009
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