I have changed my mind, Cadel Evans.

Adieu

Now, ever since Cadel Evans stepped into the limelight in last years tour, I hated him. I cant explain why but for some reason, he just did not have that likability factor, probably due to him having a pretty boring style/mentality as a lot of you have pointed out.

However, watching the interviews of him getting the yellow Jersey and seemingly showing real emotion towards what he has finally achieved made me think that his huge unpopularity seems hugely undeserved compared to Cavendish who don't get me wrong is an amazing athlete but his attitude to reporters, etc when he has a bad day leaves something to be desired.

So, for this post to have some sort of point, my conclusion is that I may prefer many other riders over Evans, I won't be disappointed if he wins due to his seemingly real commitment and desire which is what the sport should be about.

Coriander

Adieu, you beat me to it, I was thinking the same thing. Still can't bear to listen to his voice though, and there is something essentially unappealing about him.

I was also thinking about this confusion as to whether the Tour is sport or entertainment. If it's sport then Cadel clearly deserves to be in yellow - quite simply he's the quickest man round the course so far. How thrillingly he does it is irrelevant, if it's a sport he just needs to win.

If it's entertaiment then the yellow jersey becomes meaningless, drugs might as well be taken by everyone and people not bother dedicating their lives to training and competing.

We need to decide - do we want sport or entertainment? Sometimes we're lucky and get both.

colint

I just can't take to him. I just hope he does some attacking on the alps otherwise this is going to be the dullest tour ever. I feel like he's going to win just for turning up

Not sure about him being OK with the press, didn't he refuse to give interviews on the day of his crash ?

davidmiller

I have big problems with him also. Not his voice, the colour of hair or whatever but the way he conducts himself in the race and in the post-race interviews.

I think I've seen him make only two weak and short-lived attacks (that achieved nothing) in the last three tours so if he has to win this year's race please please God let him prove his worth by attacking in the mountains and winning a (non-TT) stage.

In the interviews he's a like a big baby. Totally over the top, seeking the limelight and wow, grumpy or what. he's no Lance that's for sure (either on or off the bike). To be totlally fair, the other day when some guy literally pushed a mic physically in his face I would have reacted the same way.

Come on man you are living the dream!!

I don't like Sastre either for similar reasons. I do like Frank Shleck who is riding well again and is dignified. Likewise Perriero (sp?). Inspiite of the fact that my fav for the tour this year, Alejandro, is miles away I take it as sign that he is clean and I warm to him more.

Like Cav but my is he arrogant. Can't decide on Millar. Where is Bradly this year?? And what about that young welsh lad who rode for Barlo last year.

My t'penceworth

david

redddraggon

Why does he have to attack? It's not his job - his job is to win the Tour, and he'll do the way that is best for him. The winner of the Tour is the rider with the lowest overall time - there's nothing in the rules saying they've got to attack.

DavidMiller wrote:

Where is Bradly this year?? And what about that young welsh lad who rode for Barlo last year.

Manchester. Training for the Olympics.

davidmiller

redddraggon wrote:

Why does he have to attack? It's not his job - his job is to win the Tour, and he'll do the way that is best for him. The winner of the Tour is the rider with the lowest overall time - there's nothing in the rules saying they've got to attack.


Of course you are right but it's like wanting Arsenal to win the premier league is n't it? You want it done in style, with complete class and few insightful and dignified words afetrwards.

Now I am missing Lance!!!

David

redddraggon

DavidMiller wrote:

Now I am missing Lance!!!

You don't mind a bully as long as they attack?

Coriander

redddraggon wrote:

Why does he have to attack? It's not his job - his job is to win the Tour, and he'll do the way that is best for him. The winner of the Tour is the rider with the lowest overall time - there's nothing in the rules saying they've got to attack.

+1 I agree. Though it is a wee bit dull.

Moomaloid

U should all be ashamed for even doubting Evans. He's a true sportsman!

Earthbound

I don't care about his league if gentlemen face or his voice - they're not his fault are they?

The fact is he is the BIGGEST WHEEL SUCKER I have ever seen.

It would be a tragedy if he became a champion by doing no more than finishing in the lead group every day. In Monday's stage he was in yellow on the road simply becasue he wasn''t dropped from hsi group where as Kirchen was (it wasn't Evan's efforts that distanced Kirchen). The when Schleck was building a lead up front Evans waited for otheres to close down until he was out of yellow on the road(yotr). He put in an 'attack' which lasted seconds and wasn't enough to recover yotr he only made it back into yellow cos of staying in that group and the efforts of others.

Whenever he found himself in the front, cos others had eased up, he moved over to the side to see if anyone was coming through. He was looking for a wheel.

I swear, if he ever found himself in front on his own he'd get lost from the route without a wheel to follow.

A dull, Dull, DULL rider. If he wins then it's true - 'and the meek shall inherit the earth'.

On their performance the likes of Schelck and Van De Velde so MUCH more deserve it.

SteveR_100Milers

Earthbound wrote:

I don't care about his league if gentlemen face or his voice - they're not his fault are they?

The fact is he is the BIGGEST WHEEL SUCKER I have ever seen.

It would be a tragedy if he became a champion by doing no more than finishing in the lead group every day. In Monday's stage he was in yellow on the road simply becasue he wasn''t dropped from hsi group where as Kirchen was (it wasn't Evan's efforts that distanced Kirchen). The when Schleck was building a lead up front Evans waited for otheres to close down until he was out of yellow on the road(yotr). He put in an 'attack' which lasted seconds and wasn't enough to recover yotr he only made it back into yellow cos of staying in that group and the efforts of others.

Whenever he found himself in the front, cos others had eased up, he moved over to the side to see if anyone was coming through. He was looking for a wheel.

I swear, if he ever found himself in front on his own he'd get lost from the route without a wheel to follow.

A dull, Dull, DULL rider. If he wins then it's true - 'and the meek shall inherit the earth'.

On their performance the likes of Schelck and Van De Velde so MUCH more deserve it.

You don't ride much then do you?

The winner is the one who is the craftiest, smartets rider. Read any ladybird book of RRing and one of the golden rules is know when to dig in, and when not to "waste" energy. Evans happens to be one of the smarter guys in the peloton (not too difficult lets be honest) - its watching someone make the best of what ability they have to sometimes outdo a stronger rider is what makes bike racing so fascinating; it's what seperates it from running for example where only the strongest can win. Drafting IS bike racing, its what distinguishes it from most other sports.... You need to look deeper into the plot

PutneyJoe

Yep, assuming Evans is clean, this is what clean riding looks like - so Evans for the tour!!!

SteveR_100Milers

I'm pretty sure Valverde is clean too, on the basis that he is struggling this year (like last year), and given that he has targeted the tour specifically, and he oh so nearly got caught.

Nuggs

I don't care if he's a great rider and a great tactician, I just can't stand him.

The way he conducts himself in the post-race interviews does nothing to endear him to me. The way he bitch-slapped the Australian reporter's wrist on Monday and squealed at him was like watching a spoilt child.

However, I'm sure Mr Evans doesn't give a toss what I think...

Earthbound

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

Earthbound wrote:

I don't care about his league if gentlemen face or his voice - they're not his fault are they?

The fact is he is the BIGGEST WHEEL SUCKER I have ever seen.

It would be a tragedy if he became a champion by doing no more than finishing in the lead group every day. In Monday's stage he was in yellow on the road simply becasue he wasn''t dropped from hsi group where as Kirchen was (it wasn't Evan's efforts that distanced Kirchen). The when Schleck was building a lead up front Evans waited for otheres to close down until he was out of yellow on the road(yotr). He put in an 'attack' which lasted seconds and wasn't enough to recover yotr he only made it back into yellow cos of staying in that group and the efforts of others.

Whenever he found himself in the front, cos others had eased up, he moved over to the side to see if anyone was coming through. He was looking for a wheel.

I swear, if he ever found himself in front on his own he'd get lost from the route without a wheel to follow.

A dull, Dull, DULL rider. If he wins then it's true - 'and the meek shall inherit the earth'.

On their performance the likes of Schelck and Van De Velde so MUCH more deserve it.

You don't ride much then do you?

The winner is the one who is the craftiest, smartets rider. Read any ladybird book of RRing and one of the golden rules is know when to dig in, and when not to "waste" energy. Evans happens to be one of the smarter guys in the peloton (not too difficult lets be honest) - its watching someone make the best of what ability they have to sometimes outdo a stronger rider is what makes bike racing so fascinating; it's what seperates it from running for example where only the strongest can win. Drafting IS bike racing, its what distinguishes it from most other sports.... You need to look deeper into the plot

You actually said
"watching someone make the best of what ability they have to sometimes outdo a stronger rider"

I'd prefer the stronger rider to win. And your pharse "make the best of what ability they have" is damning with faint praise and very accurate. He is a rider of limited ability, he realises this, and he's trying to use his tactics to beat, as you say, stronger/better riders.

Riding to glory on the coat tails of others is not the mark of a true champion.

giant_man

Cadel Evans - never seen such an unlikelyr looking winner of the Tour quite honestly, very strange looking and acting man.

mookie

Yes he is a pretty 'boring' rider and yes he is very highly strung. But I really, really want Evans to win, because:

1. I'm pretty sure he doesn't dope (crosses fingers, etc)
2. His 'boring' riding style might be related to this...
3. I like the fact that he is tetchy, difficult and driven
4. He came very close to breaking through in the Giro all those years ago (2001?), but was worked over by other teams after Mapei decided they didn't like him enough to ride for him.
5. He's the anti-Ricco, unsure of his abilities and just trying to do his best.

Or that's the way it seems.

redddraggon

Earthbound wrote:

I'd prefer the stronger rider to win.

Let's have a TT all the way around France then (and watch Cadel still win)

clanton

I wouldn't say he is weak - he is simply an all rounder who is not particularly outstanding in any one field, not the greatest climber and not the greatest TT-er but good enough all round to be the leader. As for some sort of personality contest there are loads of top cyclists who were either plain dull or downright unpleasant. Why should people single out Cadel Evans?

No I dislike Cadel Evans for the simple reason that he is an Aussie.

colint

I've got no problem with him not being particularly media friendly, it's just when you couple that with his boring riding style it just becomes too much. Of course there's nothing to say he has to attack etc but is that what we want to watch ? How many new fans do you think years tour will attract ? It's just dull dull dull.

I just hope someone whose within a couple of minutes tries to rip tings up in the Alps and forces him to do something. Maybe if I was in his position I;d ride the same way, but I'm not, I'm a fan and want to watch great sport, not a procession where the guy wo takes the least chances wins

biondino

I love him for his affection for the stuffed lion. I have done a complete volte-face on this ever since I saw him cuddling that thing and now I literally get weepy whenever I think about it.

SteveR_100Milers

Earthbound wrote:

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

Earthbound wrote:

I don't care about his league if gentlemen face or his voice - they're not his fault are they?

The fact is he is the BIGGEST WHEEL SUCKER I have ever seen.

It would be a tragedy if he became a champion by doing no more than finishing in the lead group every day. In Monday's stage he was in yellow on the road simply becasue he wasn''t dropped from hsi group where as Kirchen was (it wasn't Evan's efforts that distanced Kirchen). The when Schleck was building a lead up front Evans waited for otheres to close down until he was out of yellow on the road(yotr). He put in an 'attack' which lasted seconds and wasn't enough to recover yotr he only made it back into yellow cos of staying in that group and the efforts of others.

Whenever he found himself in the front, cos others had eased up, he moved over to the side to see if anyone was coming through. He was looking for a wheel.

I swear, if he ever found himself in front on his own he'd get lost from the route without a wheel to follow.

A dull, Dull, DULL rider. If he wins then it's true - 'and the meek shall inherit the earth'.

On their performance the likes of Schelck and Van De Velde so MUCH more deserve it.

You don't ride much then do you?

The winner is the one who is the craftiest, smartets rider. Read any ladybird book of RRing and one of the golden rules is know when to dig in, and when not to "waste" energy. Evans happens to be one of the smarter guys in the peloton (not too difficult lets be honest) - its watching someone make the best of what ability they have to sometimes outdo a stronger rider is what makes bike racing so fascinating; it's what seperates it from running for example where only the strongest can win. Drafting IS bike racing, its what distinguishes it from most other sports.... You need to look deeper into the plot

You actually said
"watching someone make the best of what ability they have to sometimes outdo a stronger rider"

I'd prefer the stronger rider to win. And your pharse "make the best of what ability they have" is damning with faint praise and very accurate. He is a rider of limited ability, he realises this, and he's trying to use his tactics to beat, as you say, stronger/better riders.

Riding to glory on the coat tails of others is not the mark of a true champion.

you make a big leap of asummption that I was referring specifically to Evans, they wre in fact general commenst about road racing and why its so exciting compared to other endurance events.
I happen to think that he is one of the strongest riders in the peloton, witness his ability in the mountains and TT ing. He deserves to be where he is on the basis of his all round ability, in his particular case since he doesnt have a very strong team around him, his position is all the more impressive. A for your last comment, what a load of b**cks sorry This is 2008 and winning IS everything.

Uncle Chop Chop

Ah damn it......and here I was thinking that the Tour was a bike race, seems it's a beauty contest after all
Clanton......go and stand in the corner. You dislike Evans because of his nationality? Well I dislike you because you're a goose

GeorgeShaw

I'm with the anti brigade. Watching Evans is like watching George Graham's Arsenal. Who wants to watch a dire scrappy soulless 1-0 win every week?

And, just to add a gratuitous insult, doesn't he remind you of the Crazy Frog?

The Dr

Wow There's a lot of perfect people in here. Gotta love the internet.....it's amazing how much 'courage' anonymity provides.

cadelforever

Good to see Cadel being judged by such fantastic criteia..his looks, his nationality... If you want super exciting riders heres a list Rico, Pantani, De Luca, Ulrich, Basso, Landis, Hamilton, David Millar, Rasmussen......theyr'e also all drug cheats proven. This doesn't include everyone else who's produced a great performance and then gone backwards..Valverde for instance who's still involved with Operation P and even Contador who is linked to Bruyneel, who is linked to Postal which is linked to Armstrong who is linked to Beltran, Heras, Hamilton, Andreu and Landis..and he's Spanish! It's simple ..if it looks too good to be true it probably is.
If all the cheats didn't ride Evans would be the top stage race rider of his generation barring Armstrong and I'm not convinced about him. EPO in his urine in 99 and where did Hamilton and probably Landis get the idea to blood dope and think they could get away with it?
If everyones clean the Tour will be won either by the next Mercx, Contador if he stays clean or a Mr Consistency and hard grafter like Evans or Frank S.

iainf72

cadelforever wrote:

If everyones clean the Tour will be won either by the next Mercx, Contador if he stays clean or a Mr Consistency and hard grafter like Evans or Frank S.

Oh no - Do you know what you've done now?

Last year we have a fan called Vinocough - And guess what happened?

In 06 we had FloydFan. And guess what happened?

Lets hope the BikeRadar curse does not strike again.


:P

lloyd_bower

I think it's great that 3 dopers have been caught this year, and I guess there's more to come, it's so much more positive than 98 Festina affair, when riders practically protested against the tests, now we have riders speaking out against the dopers - '"I hope that the cheats have been caught and the sport has really been cleaned up in a fair and transparent way... from the current yellow jersey wearer, somehow there was no chance of the ultimate winner of the yellow that year making a similar statement.

Sure, I've thought Evans was boring and clung to wheels, we can now see why he struggled against Rasmussen and Contador last year. I'd be happy to see Evans in yellow in Paris, he's no flash in the pan. As a previous poster mentioned h was close to winning the Giro all those years ago, then missed a tour with a broken collarbone and has steadily improved since.

ddraver

It annoys me when preterntious journalists (particularlky this websites podcast) slag him off for not being media friendly....having personally seen how journalists treat people recently (don't ask) i could nt give a monkeys about their precious interviews

Let the guy whos the best bike rider over three weeks win, not over one day, and not the one that gives good press conferences - otherwise we ll just get Davina Mcall (sp?) to present it next year instead - maybe have people voting for the wineer?

DaveyL

Yes, I wonder how many questions Lance answered before the stages started, and whether these guys would've had the minerals to take a shot at Lance if he wasn't being media-friendly enough for their liking.

flattythehurdler

They weren't allowed anywhere near him unless they deemed friendly in advance. You should read Bad Blood. He had hired goons taking photos of everyone asking him a question he didn't like so he could ban them from all future contact. A big bully like AF and the BBC