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Farewell Cadel

EPC06EPC06 Posts: 213
edited February 2015 in Pro race
Difficult to gauge his popularity on here but as Evans approaches retirement its fair to say he's had a tremendous career and I for one will miss seeing him race.
My favorite memory would be his solo effort up the Lautaret and Galibier in chase of Andy and the Tour overall, dropping each of his rivals as they struggled to hold on.

Chapeau
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  • salsiccia1salsiccia1 Posts: 3,723
    +1

    A real gutsy rider, transformed by his Worlds win. Wore the bands better than most of recent times, topped by THAT stage in the 2010 Giro. The best GT stage for many years.

    cadel_evans1-420x0.jpg
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • smithy21smithy21 Posts: 2,204
    ^ this really. Incredible stuff that stage.
  • shinyhelmutshinyhelmut Posts: 1,351
    True class that stage, wiping the mud off the rainbow bands as he approached the finish line.
  • jimmythecuckoojimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,599
    Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • salsiccia1salsiccia1 Posts: 3,723
    jimmythecuckoo wrote:
    Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...

    Possibly, but I think he of all people has earnt it :wink:
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • jimmythecuckoojimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,599
    If he is clean, he is one of the riders of his generation.

    But this isn't the thread for dubious chat.


    His worlds win and the White Roads Giro stage were amazing racing.
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • Yellow PerilYellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    jimmythecuckoo wrote:
    Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...

    I think Jens and Millar could contest that...It does seem that there is an awful amount of luvvee-dom in cycling these days with endless curtain calls. Ironically I don't begrudge the Post World Champs win Evans any of this but the rider he was before was highly unlikeable. Truly an Epiphany, I'll miss his gutsy riding
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • joelsimjoelsim Posts: 7,552
    Reading this thread, for just a fleeting moment I didn't dislike the bloke.

    Back to normal now thankfully.
  • dolan_driverdolan_driver Posts: 831
    He is widely regarded as a clean Tour De France winner. That makes him a member of a very exclusive club. The fact that he competed cleanly against the EPO Generation for much of his career makes his Tour and Worlds win very special. A gutsy rider and I'm sad to see him go. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

    DD.
  • disgruntledgoatdisgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    jimmythecuckoo wrote:
    Longest fairwell tour since Status Quo...

    I think Jens and Millar could contest that...It does seem that there is an awful amount of luvvee-dom in cycling these days with endless curtain calls. Ironically I don't begrudge the Post World Champs win Evans any of this but the rider he was before was highly unlikeable. Truly an Epiphany, I'll miss his gutsy riding


    I was always of the same opinion, but when you look back at the guys he was consistently getting beaten by, the total lack of support within his team prior to BMC and his struggles to even get picked for grand tours by T Mobile he must have had the patience of a saint not to blow his stack every single day.

    Having a reputation for being a dull wheelsucker can't be pleasant when vintage Berto, Armstrong, Schlecks, Ras, Menchov etc are your peers
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • bikes`n`gunsbikes`n`guns Posts: 959
    Certainly popular with me anyway.

    But I agree, he has become more palatable to some as of late, as he was not everyones cup of tea. But hey ho, he probably worried more about riding than being liked.
    Trek,,,, too cool for school ,, apparently
  • No_Ta_DoctorNo_Ta_Doctor Posts: 11,323
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.
    “Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”

    @DrHeadgear

    The Vikings are coming!
  • iainf72iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.

    Nonsense. Can you just stop lying to us and lying to yourself

    You don't like him because a horse kicked him and you think if a horse had a problem with him, you've got a problem with him too.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • joelsimjoelsim Posts: 7,552
    iainf72 wrote:
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.

    Nonsense. Can you just stop lying to us and lying to yourself

    You don't like him because a horse kicked him and you think if a horse had a problem with him, you've got a problem with him too.

    I find myself shouting at the TV when he's on it. And not in a good way. His bike riding style isn't the easiest on the eyes either. No other rider does that to me, even Valverde.

    #gohorse
  • andyracandyrac Posts: 762
    Like others said, the World Championship seemed to be the making of him; a TdF win, that stage in the Giro, plus winning Wallone. And, to prove how versatile he was 2 MTB XC World Cup Titles....

    Riders who can win in more than 1 discipline always score highly for me.

    All Road/ Gravel: Trek Crockett 5
    WInter: Trek Domane ALR3
    MTB: Canyon Grand Canyon 8.0
    Road: tbc
  • No_Ta_DoctorNo_Ta_Doctor Posts: 11,323
    iainf72 wrote:
    No tA Doctor wrote:
    For all that he's done, I should have mountains of respect and admiration for him. But I somehow just can't warm to him. And that's not because of the various outbursts during interviews etc, I just don't like him on the bike. I should do, but I don't.

    Probably the elbows.

    Nonsense. Can you just stop lying to us and lying to yourself

    You don't like him because a horse kicked him and you think if a horse had a problem with him, you've got a problem with him too.

    I didn't even know about the horse thing!

    Horses are mental bastards, so I've maybe got a bit more time for him now.

    Note: my avatar is a pony. Far more well balanced, psychologically. Possibly.
    “Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”

    @DrHeadgear

    The Vikings are coming!
  • tailwindhometailwindhome Posts: 17,385
    If he didn't dope he must have been the greatest rider of the last 30 years.
    And an incredibly pragmatic personality.
    Believe that a farther shore
    Is reachable from here.
    Believe in miracles
    And cures and healing wells
  • philbar72philbar72 Posts: 2,228
    Face for radio, riding uphill like he had burst a boil on his bum, and the descending ability of someone who knew what they were doing. Not much of a personality, but a gutsy competitor and a strong bike rider. Great TDF win.

    I'll miss him a bit.
  • wombly_kneeswombly_knees Posts: 657
    I'll miss him. Rode with grit and twas a terrible era in which he peaked.
  • disgruntledgoatdisgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    Also does a ton of work for good causes.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • milton50milton50 Posts: 3,856
    I never warmed to him personally. He always seemed quite an awkward, bitter person.

    But you have to admire what he achieved on the bike. He was so tenacious. I'll always remember that stage to the summit of the Galibier where he slowly reeled in Andy Schleck for mile after mile.
  • jordan_217jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    I didn't ever have a pint with the bloke so I don't know whether I liked him or not...

    As a rider though, he was solid. Didn't quite have the panache as other GT winners and contenders but he's there to ride a bike and get the job done, which he did and he did it consistently. I bet a few GC contenders will be glad to know he's no longer going to be on their wheel.
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • shinyhelmutshinyhelmut Posts: 1,351
    Milton50 wrote:
    I never warmed to him personally. He always seemed quite an awkward, bitter person.

    But you have to admire what he achieved on the bike. He was so tenacious. I'll always remember that stage to the summit of the Galibier where he slowly reeled in Andy Schleck for mile after mile.

    If he was clean then he has every reason to be bitter.
  • milton50milton50 Posts: 3,856
    To a certain extent, I suppose.
  • rick_chaseyrick_chasey Posts: 61,051 Lives Here
    Uglier riding style than Voeckler.


    There I said it.
    _
  • debelidebeli Posts: 583
    I think the pro-peloton will be a duller place without him.

    I sort of preferred him as a perpetual bridesmaid than once he won the TdF.... I'm not sure why, but I like the eternal nearly-man.

    He was certainly made of guts and his descending showed his MTB heritage. A very exciting rider to watch.

    It surprises me a little that his connections with Ferrari, Rominger et al do not lead to more finger-pointing. I think people just like him, so they'd rather not think he juiced.

    I like him too, but I do think he juiced. Or... he is way, way better than he appeared. Which I think he is not.

    Nonetheless, he will be a loss to cycling and in juicing he was just keeping up with the Jenses.
  • EPC06EPC06 Posts: 213
    Debeli wrote:
    I think the pro-peloton will be a duller place without him.

    I sort of preferred him as a perpetual bridesmaid than once he won the TdF.... I'm not sure why, but I like the eternal nearly-man.

    He was certainly made of guts and his descending showed his MTB heritage. A very exciting rider to watch.

    It surprises me a little that his connections with Ferrari, Rominger et al do not lead to more finger-pointing. I think people just like him, so they'd rather not think he juiced.

    I like him too, but I do think he juiced. Or... he is way, way better than he appeared. Which I think he is not.

    Nonetheless, he will be a loss to cycling and in juicing he was just keeping up with the Jenses.

    Dont agree on the appeared to be juiced. Always looked to me like he was on the rivet everytime he went up a mountain and I never saw him once dance away from anyone...hence all the references to wheel sucking.
  • The_BoyThe_Boy Posts: 3,099
    Or the 'reverse clinic', as we call it.

    I was never a fan of Cadel's until *that* stage chasing after Andy. Was the sort of ride that defines a race and well worthy of his yellow jumper.
    Team My Man 2018: David gaudu, Pierre Latour, Romain Bardet, Thibaut pinot, Alexandre Geniez, Florian Senechal, Warren Barguil, Benoit Cosnefroy
  • MacaloonMacaloon Posts: 5,545
    I like to imagine Cadel accumulating grievances: unfair competition, dogs abuse, and the final indignity of 'competing' with van Gardening Accident for team leadership. It should make for a fantastic memoir.
    ...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.
  • tailwindhometailwindhome Posts: 17,385
    B8Yy64YIQAAoWsb.jpg:large
    Casquetteurs ‏@casquetteurs · 17m17 minutes ago
    Believe that a farther shore
    Is reachable from here.
    Believe in miracles
    And cures and healing wells
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