Cadel Evans Future

mbt1967

Tom Butcher wrote:

Can he really win a classic though ? With his lack of finish he'd have to be far more aggressive than I've ever seen him ride. OK so he had a go in Paris Nice this year - but all that did was show up his lack of any acceleration compared to the likes of Valverde.

People keep saying how tough he is but is he really tough - the way he acts make me think he's mentally fragile compared to some of them. The way he couldn't hold Sanchez's wheel at the Vuelta - if he'd stayed in the front group I'd have put money on him staying with them - but once something went wrong I don't think his head was in the right place and that cost him.

I think he can win a classic. Yesterday will do his belief wonders. As you rightly point out his head isn't always in the right place but he's got it.

LBL and Amstel Gold could be his. Tour of Lombardy too.

Kléber

Just ask Cunego: if you have a shot at winning a Grand Tour you are likely to spend years going for it. Even being a top-10 contender in the Tour de France will net you a bigger salary than being top-3 in Liege, Roubaix or Lombardy.

It's also easier in some ways to deal with the Tour. You can race over three weeks and if the GC doesn't work out, maybe you can bag a stage or a jersey. Pinning your entire year onto the Ardennes weekend or Lombardy is risky given that there are 20-30 riders capable of winning, a lot depends on luck.

There's no reason Evans can't do it all. He could race and be competitive throughout the season, but knowing he won't be number one in July, only capable of top-5. The same goes for other riders. Indeed with Contador around I think we'll see the other riders "forced" to race more often so they can win. We saw some of this at the Giro this year with Sastre and Menchov knowing they were doomed against Contador in July and opting to pick a win in Italy instead.

mbt1967

Kléber wrote:

Just ask Cunego: if you have a shot at winning a Grand Tour you are likely to spend years going for it. Even being a top-10 contender in the Tour de France will net you a bigger salary than being top-3 in Liege, Roubaix or Lombardy.

It's also easier in some ways to deal with the Tour. You can race over three weeks and if the GC doesn't work out, maybe you can bag a stage or a jersey. Pinning your entire year onto the Ardennes weekend or Lombardy is risky given that there are 20-30 riders capable of winning, a lot depends on luck.

There's no reason Evans can't do it all. He could race and be competitive throughout the season, but knowing he won't be number one in July, only capable of top-5. The same goes for other riders. Indeed with Contador around I think we'll see the other riders "forced" to race more often so they can win. We saw some of this at the Giro this year with Sastre and Menchov knowing they were doomed against Contador in July and opting to pick a win in Italy instead.

I agree Cadel will never beat AC to Paris. Someone has to have the belief thay can though. Little Shleck and Roman Kruiziger would be the obvious contenders. Nibali maybe? I'd hate to see them targetting other races.

teagar

mbt1967 wrote:

Kléber wrote:

Just ask Cunego: if you have a shot at winning a Grand Tour you are likely to spend years going for it. Even being a top-10 contender in the Tour de France will net you a bigger salary than being top-3 in Liege, Roubaix or Lombardy.

It's also easier in some ways to deal with the Tour. You can race over three weeks and if the GC doesn't work out, maybe you can bag a stage or a jersey. Pinning your entire year onto the Ardennes weekend or Lombardy is risky given that there are 20-30 riders capable of winning, a lot depends on luck.

There's no reason Evans can't do it all. He could race and be competitive throughout the season, but knowing he won't be number one in July, only capable of top-5. The same goes for other riders. Indeed with Contador around I think we'll see the other riders "forced" to race more often so they can win. We saw some of this at the Giro this year with Sastre and Menchov knowing they were doomed against Contador in July and opting to pick a win in Italy instead.

I agree Cadel will never beat AC to Paris. Someone has to have the belief thay can though. Little Shleck and Roman Kruiziger would be the obvious contenders. Nibali maybe? I'd hate to see them targetting other races.

Give Gesink a few years - as long as Rabobank don't burn him out racing too much.


I feel my previous post about what calendar I would put Cadel on was right on the money.

*congratulates self*