Cuddles

wicked

Pokerface wrote:

wicked wrote:

Cadel Evans will never win the tour. He will turn himself inside out to come 5th or something and in the process will ruin any chances he might have had in the vuelta. He should forget the tour, that ship has sailed and concentrate on the giro or vuelta, the latter has actually has a chance of winning.

Yeah - but pretty much every rider has no chance of beating Contador. Should all GC contenders simply skip the Tour and focus on the Giro/Vuelta instead?

When they have been banging their head against a brick wall for years then yes. The reality is he is just not good enough. He can't beat AC no shame there but he can't beat Schleck, Basso probably VdB and Gesink too. Hell I even fancy CVdV against evans.
The defining moment came in 2008 he had it on a plate and was beaten by Sastre.

shinyhelmut

wicked wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

wicked wrote:

Cadel Evans will never win the tour. He will turn himself inside out to come 5th or something and in the process will ruin any chances he might have had in the vuelta. He should forget the tour, that ship has sailed and concentrate on the giro or vuelta, the latter has actually has a chance of winning.

Yeah - but pretty much every rider has no chance of beating Contador. Should all GC contenders simply skip the Tour and focus on the Giro/Vuelta instead?

When they have been banging their head against a brick wall for years then yes. The reality is he is just not good enough. He can't beat AC no shame there but he can't beat Schleck, Basso probably VdB and Gesink too. Hell I even fancy CVdV against evans.
The defining moment came in 2008 he had it on a plate and was beaten by Sastre.

If I remember rightly sastre CSC had both schlecks to mark evans on that day. Hardly having the tour on a plate!

wicked

ShinyHelmut wrote:

wicked wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

wicked wrote:

Cadel Evans will never win the tour. He will turn himself inside out to come 5th or something and in the process will ruin any chances he might have had in the vuelta. He should forget the tour, that ship has sailed and concentrate on the giro or vuelta, the latter has actually has a chance of winning.

Yeah - but pretty much every rider has no chance of beating Contador. Should all GC contenders simply skip the Tour and focus on the Giro/Vuelta instead?

When they have been banging their head against a brick wall for years then yes. The reality is he is just not good enough. He can't beat AC no shame there but he can't beat Schleck, Basso probably VdB and Gesink too. Hell I even fancy CVdV against evans.
The defining moment came in 2008 he had it on a plate and was beaten by Sastre.

If I remember rightly sastre CSC had both schlecks to mark evans on that day. Hardly having the tour on a plate!

Quite correct. It's a plate relative to the lack of an outstanding favourite that year.

durhamwasp

Ive got a few quid on him, reckon he's the best punt. (If Conty races, Conty will win, but his odds are not worth bothering with)

Pokerface

JonGinge wrote:

Pokerface wrote:

iainf72 wrote:

And the sad reality is coming 5'th in the French race is worth more than winning the Vuelta.

To who? The riders? I can tell you who won the Vuelta last year. I can't tell you who came 5th in the Tour (or even 3rd for that matter!)

That's coz it was Denny Menchov, the silent killer

The Ghost. No wonder they call him that when I can't even remember him being on the podium, let alone in the race! :oops:

paulcuthbert

domhopson wrote:

Ok, so I've read a couple of articles with Cuddles, but does anybody actually think he has a genuine chance to win yellow on 24th July? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see him get something out of Le Tour this year, and yes he won the rainbow jersey (did it proud). but is he a serious contender?

No.

And I don't get why everyone likes him so much either. Anyone care to explain?

Pokerface

paulcuthbert wrote:

And I don't get why everyone likes him so much either. Anyone care to explain?

Because of this:

paulcuthbert

He won a stage that was a bit mucky? Chapeau

:shock:

Yellow Peril

I can't speak for everyone but I used to think he was a bit of a whingeing, wheelsucking tw@t. However, over the last 2 or 3 seasons he seems to have taken a more gutsy approach in his riding. He "manned up" when he won the rainbow jersey and instead of sitting pretty in the peleton got out there and gave it a go.

If he continues to ride in that vein I would be quite happy to see him win the Tour.

iainf72

paulcuthbert wrote:

He won a stage that was a bit mucky? Chapeau

:shock:

So you've not seen the single days best racing of the last 10 years then? You should seek it out, you might learn something.

inkyfingers

iainf72 wrote:

paulcuthbert wrote:

He won a stage that was a bit mucky? Chapeau

:shock:

So you've not seen the single days best racing of the last 10 years then? You should seek it out, you might learn something.

Iain, whilst I agree with what you say it does sound a bit like something Frenchfighter would say.

I was doing the Fight Club sufferfest video on Sunday, which features Evan's WC winning move...i'd challenge anybody not to have respect for the man for that. I do think that something clicked in his brain that day, I know he'd won races before but he now looks and acts like somebody who can win races.

simon_e

paulcuthbert wrote:

He won a stage that was a bit mucky? Chapeau

:shock:

I guess you weren't impressed. What/who do you rate and why?

A lot of people thought of him as merely a whiney, big gear-grinding nearly man*, but that changed with his perfectly timed 2009 WC ride. Fans felt he honoured the rainbow jersey last year in a way that hadn't happened for some time, including Flèche Wallonne, dishing out the pain in the Giro (no cakewalk), and riding with a fractured elbow in the Tour. Most of us wouldn't want to even sit on a bike with a broken elbow, never mind ride one of the hardest mountain stages of the Tour de France! He's not a robot, and he wears his heart on his sleeve.

I don't do hero worship, but of all the pro riders in the last couple of years his efforts are some of the ones I've appreciated the most.

* and of course winning is everything. It's why we all love Bertie and Lance, right?

Salsiccia

Yellow Peril wrote:

I can't speak for everyone but I used to think he was a bit of a whingeing, wheelsucking tw@t. However, over the last 2 or 3 seasons he seems to have taken a more gutsy approach in his riding. He "manned up" when he won the rainbow jersey and instead of sitting pretty in the peloton got out there and gave it a go.

If he continues to ride in that vein I would be quite happy to see him win the Tour.

What he said. Wore the rainbow stripes with so much panache. And the strade bianchi stage of the Giro last year was the best day's racing for years, and he had the balls and strength to win it.

Monty Zoncolan

Yep, seeing his tearful interview during last year's TDF where he basically apologised for letting everyone down after injury took its toll - give me cyclists with a human side any day.

inkyfingers

I've said before that I think he's the only serious GC contender who I think could do well at Paris Roubaix. Shame we'll never see him try.